Balatro Reclassified to PEGI 12 After Publisher's Appeal

In a surprising turn of events, the roguelike deckbuilder Balatro has been reclassified from PEGI 18 to the more fitting PEGI 12 rating. This adjustment by the ratings board places Balatro on more even footing, distancing it from the more mature content akin to games like Grand Theft Auto.

Frequent readers might remember the peculiar story from last year when Balatro was initially slapped with a PEGI 18 rating, a decision that left many, including the developer, scratching their heads. However, thanks to an appeal by Balatro's publisher to the board, the game has now been reclassified to PEGI 12, a rating that better reflects its content.

This isn't the first time Balatro has faced scrutiny from external organizations. It was briefly removed from the Nintendo eShop due to concerns over its perceived gambling content. Yet, it's important to note that players cannot win real money or place bets in Balatro; the game uses cash purely as an abstract mechanism to purchase more cards within each run.

The house always wins
The initial PEGI 18 rating stemmed from Balatro's use of gambling-adjacent imagery, such as depictions of poker hands like straight flushes. It's ironic that such elements were considered as severe as vehicular homicide in GTA. This classification has also impacted Balatro on mobile platforms, despite the widespread presence of in-app transactions in many games.

While the reclassification to PEGI 12 is a welcome change, it's frustrating that it took so long to rectify. Better late than never, perhaps, but it shouldn't have happened in the first place.

If this news piques your interest in trying out Balatro, why not check out our tier list of Jokers? It'll help you figure out which of these game-changing cards are worth your time and which ones to skip.