Game of the Year. I don’t think it will bring home the coveted trophy, but there are plenty of reasons why it should. Balatro’s one-person developer LocalThunk first released his passion project on February 20,

Balatro developer LocalThunk (who uses a pseudonym online) told Polygon it’s “completely surreal” to be nominated among the likes of heavy hitters Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdree, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth,

Earlier this week, Animal Well, Balatro, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, Neva, and UFO 50 received nominations for Best Independent Game for this year's The Game Awards. Balatro was also nominated for Game of the Year, alongside Astro Bot, Black Myth: Wukong, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and Metaphor: ReFantazio.