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 initially classified as PEGI 18 by rating boards. This unexpected rating put it on the same level of content as games like Grand Theft Auto, which naturally baffled many people, including the developer.

However, it seems that PEGI has recognized their error and has now reclassified Balatro to the more fitting (and in my opinion, appropriate) PEGI 12 rating. According to developer Localthunk, who shared the news on Twitter, this change came about in part due to an appeal made by Balatro's publisher to the board.

It's not the first time Balatro has faced scrutiny from external organizations; it was also briefly removed from the Nintendo eShop due to perceived gambling content. This was despite the fact that players can't win real money or place bets, and the only use of cash is as an abstract means to purchase more cards within each run.

The house always wins As mentioned earlier, one of the key reasons Balatro received such a high rating was due to its depiction of gambling-adjacent imagery. Essentially, the concern was that players might learn about concepts like a straight flush or a flush, which were seen as akin to the vehicular homicide depicted in Grand Theft Auto.

This situation is frustrating, especially since Balatro's initial classification was also applied to mobile platforms, despite the prevalence of in-app purchases in virtually every game on these platforms. Better late than never, perhaps, but it's a fix that shouldn't have been necessary in the first place.

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