Poker roguelike Balatro is nominated in five categories at the 2024 Game Awards, including the top spot — Game of the Year. Solo developer LocalThunk stands as the only indie developer in the Game of the Year and Best Game Direction categories, which have the same lineup: Astro Bot, Balatro, Black Myth: Wukong, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and Metaphor: ReFantazio. Balatro is also nominated for Best Independent Game, Best Debut Indie Game, and Best Mobile Game. Balatro was released in February on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. It came to mobile in September.
Balatro developer LocalThunk (who uses a pseudonym online) told Polygon it’s “completely surreal” to be nominated among the likes of heavy hitters Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdree, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and the others. “The more time goes on the more I feel like I just happened to stumble into winning the game developer lottery. I’d like to think the game has appeal but I feel that appeal pales in comparison to the incredible other nominees.”
LocalThunk added that he was “totally blindsided” by the Game of the Year nomination, but plans to celebrate with a nice dinner with his partner.
“I have been lucky enough to share this journey with a lot of fellow indie developers and the outpouring of love and support from them and my friends and family has been overwhelming,” LocalThunk added.
