Shortly after celebrating the success ofBalatroat The Game Awards 2024, the game’s creator, LocalThunk, is calling out PEGI for switching the game’s rating to 18+ earlier in the year - the highest age rating that PEGI can give, and by far the highest ratingBalatrohas received from any ratings board. A rating of 18+ classifiesBalatroas a game that’s available for adults only and restricts minors from legally purchasing the game in the UK, though there are obviously ways around those restrictions.
In a post from@LocalThunk on X,the creator ofBalatrohas called out PEGI for the hypocrisy ofBalatro’s 18+ rating, saying “maybe I should add microtransactions/loot boxes/real gambling to lower that rating to 3+ like EA sports FC,” specifically referring toEA Sports FC 25’s 3+ PEGI rating. Notably,FC 25, despite being a full-price game, also includes a heavy focus on in-game microtransactions, encouraging players to spend additional money on a premium currency, FC Points, which can be used for in-game purchases, including random card packs.
Balatro Developer Contests The Game’s 18+ PEGI Rating
The Creator Of Balatro Calls Out PEGI For Inconsistent Ratings Of Gambling In Games
ThePEGI websitejustifiesBalatro’s 18 rating by saying that the game’s use of real poker hands teaches skills that “could be transferred to a real-life game of poker,” conflatingBalatro’s mechanics with gambling - even thoughthe game has relatively little to do with real poker outside cosmetic elements, like using poker hands to score or winning chips as an equivalent to points. Next to PEGI ratings for games likeEA Sports FC 25(3+) orHonkai: Star Rail(12+), which heavily encourage spending real money on in-game gambling elements,Balatro’s 18+ comes off as hypocritical.
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Notably, LocalThunk has also clarified thatthe hypocrisy of other games' ratings is more of an issue thanBalatro’s ratingitself, saying in anotherpost on Xthat “I’m way more irked at the 3+ for games with actual gambling mechanics for children.” It should be pointed out that, despiteBalatro’s poker-themed gameplay, the game’s cost has only ever been the one-time, upfront purchase of the game itself, with no microtransactions or premium currencies, and all ofBalatro’s content can be unlocked by simply playing it.
Balatro Does Less To Encourage Gambling Than Any Game With Loot Boxes
Despite Balatro’s Poker-Themed Gameplay, Gambling Is Not A Major Aspect
Next to games with a heavy emphasis on monetization through microtransactions,it’s suspect to think thatBalatroencourages real-world gambling in any meaningful way. While the game does use poker hands, its actual gameplay is a poker-themed twist on deckbuilding roguelikes and is much more comparable to something likeSlay the Spirethan actual, real-world poker.
As PEGI tightens its restrictions on depictions of gambling, rather than actual gambling elements, however, it’s uncertain ifthe ratings of eitherBalatroor microtransaction-heavy games likeFC 25will change in the future.
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While there’s some validity to the point thatBalatrocan familiarize players with real poker hands, the game’s 18+ rating is inconsistent next to games that actually encourage gambling with real money on in-game rewards, likethe infamous Arcane Fractured Jinx skin fromLeague of Legends(rated 12+ by PEGI), which requires players to buy in-game items for a small chance at getting the skin. AlthoughBalatro’s rating might technically be justified according to PEGI guidelines, the ratings board may also want to revisit the ratings of other games as well.
Sources: @LocalThunk/X (1,2),PEGI
Balatro
Developed by LocalThunk, Balatro is a deck-building poker roguelike game released on all main modern consoles and PCs in 2024. Set up as a unique fusion of deck-building and poker, Balatro tasks players with trying to win escalating games of poker where they can purchase joker cards with unique effects to help win and conquer their opponents.
