One of 2024’s biggest hits is now available to play on Xbox Game Pass.
Balatro was released last year for Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch consoles and was also available to play on PC. A reworked take on Poker, the additive card game went on to sell more than 3.5million copies and received rave reviews across the board. It also win Best Indie, Best Debut Indie and Best Mobile Game at the 2024 Game Awards.
“It’s impossible to resist gleefully cranking the lever on Balatro’s big, shiny slot machine over and over again, assuring yourself ‘I’ll get it next time’,” NME wrote during our end-of-year rundown of the best games.
“Appropriately dubbed as, ‘a sequel to poker’ by its legions of fans, Balatro’s shocking, ever-evolving depth ensures discovery with each round. The game constantly ups the ante, handing you new, satisfying tools to hack away at every barrier preventing you from beating the house – who eventually always win.”
And now Xbox Game Pass subscribers can try out the hit game after Balatro was shadow dropped onto the platform earlier this week.
It may have been my birthday last week, but guess what!? I’M the one handing out the gifts!
Friends of Jimbo 4
Xbox Game Pass
Check out the trailer and try not to lose your chips over these updates!https://t.co/OPFOyXtEFx
— Balatro (@BalatroGame) February 24, 2025
Developers have also announced the fourth Friends Of Jimbo update which allows players to customise their cards. The newest update includes collaborations with Fallout, Assassin’s Creed and more.
Earlier this week, Balatro’s developers also won a legal battle to have the game reclassified in Europe after it was given a 18+ rating last year for its Poker-inspired gameplay.
“After an appeal from my publisher, Balatro has been reclassified by PEGI from 18+ to 12+,” wrote creator LocalThunk on X. ”This is a good step from PEGI – bringing nuance to their ratings criteria that used to be 18+ or nothing. I hope this change will allow developers to create without being unfairly punished.”
In other news, the soundtrack to WWE 2K25 has been released including songs from Eminem, Jelly Roll, Architects and more.
The post Xbox Game Pass adds one of 2024’s biggest hits appeared first on NME.
