Balatro developer LocalThunk has released a complete timeline of the game’s development, from its inception in 2021 to its eventual launch on 20th February 2024.
You can read the whole thing on LocalThunk’s website, but the developer states that the intention behind the post was due to “constantly forgetting major moments in development or milestones”. As such, this was a way to present fans with the full development timeline (or at least as much as possible), while ensuring that LocalThunk is kept honest when discussing details in the future.
There are so many moments that resonate with us deeply, but naturally, it’s the sheer joy that comes with the game’s hugely successful launch that makes for an incredibly enjoyable read:
“To my shock – nothing goes wrong. People love the game, they’re having a great time. I think there may have been some small bugs but definitely nothing massive, nothing like what I was anticipating. Streamers are playing it, media is writing about it. I have so many texts from friends and family. It is the most surreal day of my life.”
He is also open about his health struggles when developing the game; specifically the stress that came with the public attention that was starting to grow when development was nearing its end:
“My sleep and my heart are getting worse. Every few nights I need to sleep sitting upright on the couch because sleeping while lying down kept getting interrupted by my heart. I stupidly thought that I couldn’t handle going to the doctor while dealing with all the dev and business stuff swirling around at the time. I felt totally overwhelmed.”
It’s worth reading the whole thing if you get a chance; it’s a wonderfully candid look into the development of one of the best games in recent years, and the sheer work that’s required of solo devs creating their first major release.
Balatro scored a well-deserved 10/10 in our review and has gone on to receive multiple awards since its release. As of 21st January 2025, it’s also sold over 5 million copies.
What do you make of LocalThunk’s development timeline? Is there anything there that took you by surprise? Let us know with a comment.
[source localthunk.com]
