Balatro Reclassified to PEGI 12 After Publisher's Appeal

Frequent readers (and why wouldn't you be?) may recall one of the more oddball stories last year about Balatro, the roguelike deckbuilder, being classified as PEGI 18 by rating boards. This rating placed it on the same level as mature content like Grand Theft Auto, which naturally baffled many people, including the developer.

However, PEGI has now recognized their error and reclassified Balatro to the more appropriate PEGI 12 rating. According to developer Localthunk, who shared the news on Twitter, this change came about after an appeal by Balatro's publisher to the board.

This isn't the first time Balatro has run into issues with external organizations. It was also briefly pulled from the Nintendo eShop due to concerns over perceived gambling content. Yet, the game doesn't allow players to win real money or make bets; the use of cash is purely abstract, used only to purchase more cards within each run.

As previously mentioned, one of the key reasons for the initial PEGI 18 classification was the game's use of gambling-adjacent imagery. Essentially, the concern was that players might learn about concepts like a straight flush or a flush. It's frustrating, especially because Balatro's classification has also affected mobile platforms, despite the prevalence of in-app transactions across many apps. A late correction is better than none, but the initial mistake shouldn't have happened.

If this news has piqued your interest in trying out Balatro, why not check out our tier list of Jokers? It'll help you determine which of these game-changing cards are worth using and which ones you might want to avoid.