Balatro grossed $1m in eight hours
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A solo developer's debut game has generated more than $1 million dollars within hours of release.
Balatro is a poker-themed roguelike deck building game published by UK publisher PlayStack, who told GamesIndustry.biz sales passed the $1 million mark after eight hours when it released last week.
It also reached profitability within one hour of being on sale.
Meanwhile, the solo developer and artist behind Balatro – known only as LocalThunk – announced on Friday that his title had sold 250,000 copies across PC, PS5, Xbox and Switch within its first three days.
PlayStack also reported this is the fastest-selling game in the publisher's eight-year history.
"We are floored by Balatro's success," said Playstack CEO Harvey Elliott. "All publishing partnerships are to some extent a leap of faith, and the sobering industry news of the last twelve months has made each leap seem further. So we understand it's a rare privilege to note that Balatro reached game-profitability within an hour following release.
"I cannot praise the developer LocalThunk and the publishing team at Playstack enough for achieving such an impressive milestone."
LocalThunk added: "I poured my heart and soul into this game with the hopes of sharing it with a few friends and loved ones, but seeing so many people share and enjoy this odd creation has been incredibly overwhelming. I can't thank the Balatro fans and Playstack enough for making this possible."
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