Steam 2024 hit explains sudden delisting

One of 2024’s best games has suffered a setback by being delisted on several storefronts after concerns were raised via an age rating change as there was a fear the game featured gambling. While the game is based on Poker and features placing bets of chips, it does not feature any gambling.

Balatro is a roguelike poker game that tasks players with earning as much money as possible through betting on hands of poker that can become chaotic through the use of joker cards. The game features no gambling in the traditional sense, which makes the delisting a little puzzling. Thankfully, the game wasn’t held back on Steam, allowing players to still buy and download the title.

Nintendo Switch is home to thousands of games and has a robust indie selection.

We called Balatro “a chaotic hand of poker” and highlighted the roguelike elements of playing with wild cards that can boost your run. While you do play chips to bet on your hand and your hand-building skills, you aren’t gambling against other players, nor are you putting money down against a blind outcome. However, as poker is the core of Balatro, it’s easy to see how some storefronts deemed it a concern for younger players.

Publisher PlayStack has argued the point and remains adamant that the age rating change is unfounded. The change came as the game’s rating was lifted from 3+ to 18+ and this caused safeguarding effects to come into play. It seems the biggest issue is with Nintendo Switch, as the game still appears on the PlayStation storefront and Microsoft's Xbox store.

Commenting directly, PlayStack said, “Following further analysis, we can now confirm that changes to Balatro’s age rating have affected only one platform in limited regions,” which was later confirmed to be the Switch eShop. They expect the game to be reinstated and back in the store soon.