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Last year, the publisher and developer of popular card game Balatro found themselves in an unusual argument with a ratings board after Balatro received an 18+ rating. But today, Balatro successfully won that appeal in Europe, earning itself a PEGI 12 rating and a lot more visibility on digital storefronts as a result.
This all started in March of 2024, shortly after the release of Balatro, with players noticing the game missing from certain digital storefronts overseas seemingly due to an unexpected change in its age rating post-launch. Per a post at the time by publisher Playstack, it received this rating “due to a mistaken belief that the game ‘contains prominent gambling imagery and material that instructs about gambling.’” The PEGI 18 rating covers "depiction of gross violence, apparently motiveless killing, or violence towards defenceless characters. The glamorisation of the use of illegal drugs and of the simulation of gambling, and explicit sexual activity should also fall into this age category," per the PEGI website.
In December, the PEGI ratings board dug in on the 18+ rating, despite Balatro not involving any actual gambling. At the time, developer LocalThunk called out PEGI for inconsistencies, pointing out that games like EA Sports FC (with heavy microtransactions and randomized elements) had a 3+ rating.
But today, the PEGI ratings board announced it has releneted and reduced the age rating of Balatro from PEGI 18 to PEGI 12 after a successful appeal. "The Complaints Board concluded that, although the game explains the various hands of poker, the roguelike deck-building game contained mitigating fantastical elements that warranted a PEGI 12 rating," reads the announcement on the PEGI website.
Update 10:15am PT: Following this news, LocalThunk shared the following statement on Bluesky: "After an appeal from my publisher, Balatro has been reclassified by PEGI from 18+ to 12+. This is a good step from PEGI – bringing nuance to their ratings criteria that used to be 18+ or nothing. I hope this change will allow developers to create without being unfairly punished."
Original story continues below:
In the same decision, PEGI also changed the PEGI 18 rating for the game Luck Be a Landlord to PEGI 12 for the same reasons – it has a slot machine mechanic, but it's a roguelike deck builder and there are no "specific transferable gambling skills" involved.
Going forward, PEGI will reconsider how it evaluates simulated gambling. As the board states:
At this moment, any teaching or glamorisation of simulated gambling automatically leads to a PEGI 18 rating. On the basis of these appeals, the PEGI Experts Group will develop a more granular set of classification criteria to handle gambling themes and the simulation, teaching and glamorisation of gambling in different age categories, which will now include 12 but also keep 18 as an age category for games that simulate gambling typically played in casinos and betting halls.
Balatro is currently available on all major platforms, though in the 35 regions that use PEGI ratings, it was often not immediately visible on digital storefronts due to the PEGI 18 rating. This seems likely to change in light of the recent decision. In the United States, Balatro is rated E for Everyone 10+ by the ESRB.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to [email protected].
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