Few indie games go on to enjoy the kind of runaway success that Balatro has. Released in February 2024, it sold five million copies by January 2025, in addition to an enormous amount of critical praise for its addictive gameplay and engaging visuals. This is all the more impressive given that the game was developed by a single individual, who goes by the name LocalThunk.
After announcing the next Balatro update would arrive in, dubbed 1.1, LocalThunk has clarified that they will be taking their time for the sake of an improved product, avoiding crunch but ultimately delaying the update indefinitely.
Improved Working Conditions
The primary reason for this shift in the release window is LocalThunk’s preferred development style, which they describe as “hobbyist.”
Given that this is the kind of working conditions under which the original game of Balatro came to be, it makes sense that going back to this would help to provide a more comfortable environment for the developer. Citing the amount of pressurised work that they’ve had to commit to since the game started to draw large amounts of attention, LocalThunk has stated that they prefer to work at a slower pace, inevitably leading to longer development windows.
Balatro Update Postponed Indefinitely
What isn’t necessarily clear is how long this wait will be – but that’s exactly the point. LocalThunk’s choice words when summing up the new timeline of “it’s done when it’s done” tells audiences everything that they need to know.
While this might come as a disappointment for many people, the base game has plenty of content — including collaborations with the likes of Cyberpunk 2077s —which will help keep players occupied until then.
What’s Expected From Balatro 1.1?
It’s also unclear what audiences can actually expect from this update.
One of the key, previously announced changes to be included was a rework to the blue stake difficulty, which limited the number of discards a player received per round – a setting that was controversial among audiences. However, the update could also be likely to include new content as well as changes to existing features.
