Mario Bautista
Key Takeaways
- Balatro reached mobile devices on September 26, priced at $9.99.
- It reached the top of the iOS and Android best-selling premium game charts within 24 hours, and has remained there for three consecutive days and counting.
Balatro is currently the best-selling game on both the Google Play Store and iOS App Store. This achievement is just the latest in a long string of testaments to Balatro‘s incredible success.
Developed by one-person Canadian studio LocalThunk, Balatro is a deck-building roguelike game loosely based on poker. It was released for PC and consoles in February 2024 to widespread critical acclaim. Specifically, Balatro presently boasts a “Mighty” rating on OpenCritic, derived from an aggregate score of 91 and a perfect 100% reviewer recommendation rate, which makes it one of the highest-rated games of 2024.
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Balatro Mobile Version Debuts at the Top of Android and iOS Sales Charts
The much-requested mobile port of Balatro finally materialized on Thursday, September 26. It did so to great success, having emerged at the top of the iOS App Store and Google Play Store sales charts within 24 hours. According to Sensor Tower’s data, as of September 29, Balatro has been the top-selling paid game on both Android and iOS in the U.S. for three days in a row. It has also topped the premium game sales charts in many other major markets, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In doing so, the game jumped ahead of numerous evergreen mobile classics such as Minecraft, Bloons TD 6, and Plague Inc.
The roguelike’s newly released mobile ports are priced at $9.99, thus being 50% cheaper than the PC and console versions of Balatro. Its early player reviews from mobile gamers are in line with its immense critical reception on other platforms. E.g., Balatro presently boasts a perfect 5.0-star rating on the iOS App Store, based on nearly 7,000 reviews. Meanwhile, almost 1,500 Android users have already rated the game with 4.9 stars on average.
Top 10 Best-Selling Premium Mobile Games in the U.S. Right Now
|
Android |
iOS |
|
|---|---|---|
|
1. |
Balatro ($9.99) |
|
|
2. |
Minecraft ($6.99) |
|
|
3. |
Bloons TD 6 ($6.99) |
Heads Up! ($1.99) |
|
4. |
Geometry Dash ($2.99) |
Bloons TD 6 ($6.99) |
|
5. |
Stardew Valley ($4.99) |
Papa’s Freezeria To Go! ($0.99) |
|
6. |
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm ($12.99) |
Geometry Dash ($2.99) |
|
7. |
Slay the Spire ($9.99) |
Plague Inc. ($0.99) |
|
8. |
My Boy! – GBA Emulator ($4.99) |
Stardew Valley ($4.99) |
|
9. |
GTA: San Andreas ($6.99) |
Red’s First Flight ($0.99) |
|
10. |
Monopoly ($4.99) |
|
The game’s mobile ports are bound to help it maintain its impressive commercial momentum. As for where its sales currently stand, publisher Playstack last said that Balatro sold 2 million units back in early August 2024.
The game recently received its first minor content update, called Friends of Jimbo, which introduced crossover card customization options based on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Among Us, Dave the Diver, and Vampire Survivors. Moving forward, LocalThunk is planning to release Balatro‘s first major gameplay update in 2025, which will debut some new “ideas and strategies.” Much like Friends of Jimbo, this upcoming content drop will be rolled out to players free of charge.
