Balatro’s explosive success has had a substantial impact on the games industry, though not all of the lessons taken from the game’s acclaim are fair or even healthy. Following its release, Balatro has been propped up as the ideal “indie” game, further popularizing the “roguelike deckbuilder” genre and fueling the glorification of the solo developer. Some hyper-business-oriented games industry people believe they have figured out how to make “the next Balatro,” when in truth the game’s blowout popularity had very much to do with luck (this is not to say Balatro isn’t an excellent game with very clever design—it very much is, but games don’t become overnight sensations solely due to their merit).
