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Balatro, the hit roguelike with poker imagery and poker hands but no actual gambling, no longer has a PEGI 18 rating in Europe following an appeal, PEGI announced today.
LocalThunk, the creator of Balatro, has publicly shared his frustrations the rating — the game was originally given a PEGI 3 rating, but it was bumped to PEGI 18 shortly after its launch in February 2024 because of the game “contains prominent gambling imagery and material that instructs about gambling,” as explained by publisher Playstack.
Now, Balatro will have a PEGI 12 rating following an appeal submitted by Sold Out Sales & Marketing, which rebranded to Fireshine Games in 2022 and publishes Balatro’s physical edition. “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,” PEGI says.
PEGI is also changing the PEGI 18 rating for Luck Be A Landlord, a roguelike with slot machine mechanics but similarly has no real-world gambling, to PEGI 12 an appeal submitted by Fangamer. “The Complaints Board reasoned that the same arguments as above applied: although the game features a slot machine mechanic, there were no specific transferable gambling skills and the game can therefore be rated PEGI 12.”
PEGI is going to make more classification criteria to address games with gambling imagery but that may not need the PEGI 18 rating. “At this moment, any teaching or glamorisation of simulated gambling automatically leads to a PEGI 18 rating,” PEGI says. “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.
“This is a good step from PEGI”
“After an appeal from my publisher, Balatro has been reclassified by PEGI from 18 plus to 12 plus,” LocalThunk says in a post on Bluesky. “This is a good step from PEGI — bringing nuance to their ratings criteria that used to be 18 plus or nothing. I hope this change will allow developers to create without being unfairly punished.”
“Playstack is pleased to confirm the PEGI Complaints Board’s decision to reclassify Balatro to a PEGI 12 rating, following appeals from Playstack and our physical distributor, Fireshine Games,” Playstack communications director Wout van Halderen says in a statement to The Verge. “We applaud the PEGI Experts Group on their commitment to develop a more granular set of classification criteria as indie games continue to stretch into new ideas and concepts. We believe it is a sign of a healthy classification board that it sticks true to its principles but is also able to self-reflect. We see this as a positive step that supports fair evaluation and helps independent developers, such as LocalThunk, bring their creative ideas to life.”
“I’m happy that PEGI finally made the right call here and lowered Luck be a Landlord’s age rating,” says Dan DiIorio, the solo game developer at TrampolineTales, in a post on Bluesky. “I just hope that this sets a standard and other games are treated the same way Balatro and Luck be a Landlord were. Now give games with loot boxes (actual gambling) higher age ratings!”
Update, February 24th: Added statements from LocalThunk, TrampolineTales’ Dan DiIorio, and a revised statement from Playstack.
