Balatro dev calls out PEGI for 18+ rating double standard: “This is comedy”

LocalThunk is not amused

LocalThunk

It has been a triumphant month for Balatro with several wins at The Game Awards 2024 and the milestone of 3.5 million sales being passed – but the Pan-European Game Information (PEGI)’s change of Balatro’s rating from 3+ to 18+ from earlier this year is still souring the festivities for the developer.

Touching on the decision to give Balatro an 18+ rating, developer LocalThunk didn’t mince words. “This is comedy,” the developer wrote on social media, posting the PEGI sites for Balatro and EA Sports FC 25 side by side – EA Sports’ soccer title has been rated as suitable for children (3+), despite containing loot box mechanics and microtransactions, which are closer to actual gambling than anything Balatro contains.

Balatro, while having a poker theme, does not include any such predatory features, which the developer rather pointedly emphasized: “Since PEGI gave us an 18+ rating for having evil playing cards maybe I should add microtransactions/loot boxes/real gambling to lower that rating to 3+ like EA Sports FC.”

PEGI’s advice for consumers regarding Balatro states: “This game has received a PEGI 18 which restricts availability to ADULTS ONLY and is not suitable for persons under 18 years of age. This rating has been given because it features prominent gambling imagery.”

Furthermore, it explains that “this game teaches – by way of images, information and gameplay – skills and knowledge that are used in poker. During gameplay, the player is rewarded with ‘chips’ for playing certain hands. The player is able to access a list of poker hand names. As the player hovers over these poker hands, the game explains what types of cards the player would need in order to play certain hands. As the game goes on, the player becomes increasingly familiar with which hands would earn more points. Because these are hands that exist in the real world, this knowledge and skill could be transferred to a real-life game of poker.”

It’s easy to see why LocalThunk is enraged by PEGI’s decision and reasoning, especially when one compares it to EA Sports FC, which gets away scott-free while featuring mechanics and in-game currencies that have outright been banned in some countries for being too close to real gambling and causing addictions in people – one of which, ironically, is Belgium, where PEGI is headquartered.

Whereas Balatro gets utterly hammered by the rating board for mere visuals and poker parallels, EA Sports FC 25 gets away with a soft warning to parents for its gambling-adjacent mechanics: “This game offers players the opportunity to purchase in-game items, in the form of an in-game currency, which can be used to purchase random card packs and other game items. Some parents or carers may want to be aware of this. Parents, carers or other responsible adults should check to see what is being offered before making any purchase on behalf of a child.”

LocalThunk clarified that PEGI’s apparent double standard is what irks them more than Balatro getting an 18+ rating, reiterating the stance they held earlier this year.

“If these other games were rated properly I’d happily accept the weirdo 18+. The red logo looks kinda dope,” the developer wrote.

The United States' ESRB rated Balatro 10+ (no age restriction on EA Sports FC 25) and Germany's usually very strict USK rated it 12+, on par with EA Sports FC 25, showing that other rating boards were able to see past mere imagery.