Balatro dethrones Minecraft on mobile app stores

Much like Microsoft Solitaire in the early days of Windows, Balatro has achieved universal appeal with its addictive take on Poker. The game has gone on to be nominated for GOTY awards this year, and following its release on mobile platforms, it has managed to knock Minecraft out of the number one spot for the first time in years.

Minecraft held the number one spot on the iOS App Store for an impressive 1,645 days due to the game's wide mass appeal. On launch, Balatro dethroned Minecraft on iOS and Android, topping mobile app store charts.

Balatro is a poker roguelite game developed by LocalThunk. The game's rise in popularity began with its Steam release earlier this year, and it has since gained five nominations at The Game Awards. The game has players going through rounds of Poker, with special cards and boss fight conditions changing things up over the course of a run. This makes each run unique, creating an addictive gameplay loop that has players sinking hundreds of hours into the game.

Balatro managed to achieve this feat on mobile despite its high £9.99 price point. Typically, paid games don't sell that well on mobile, with AAA titles like Resident Evil and Assassin's Creed Shadows shipping just thousands of copies, compared to the millions of sales they accrue on PC and console.

KitGuru Says: I'm not much of a Poker player, but after picking up Balatro for the first time, I definitely had a hard time putting it back down. It is now a game I regularly pick up and play. Have any of you played Balatro already? Have you picked up the game on mobile since its release on iOS and Android?

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