“The Complaints Board concluded that, although the game explains the various hands of poker, the roguelike deck-building game contained mitigating fantastical elements that warranted a PEGI 12 rating,” PEGI’s official announcement reads.
Balatro found itself mired in some controversy shortly after its February 2024 launch when PEGI adjusted its rating from 3+ to 18+ overnight for “prominent gambling imagery,” a change that saw the game temporarily prevented from being sold in some countries. Baltro publisher Playstack promised to address the issue with PEGI, while developer LocalThunk took a more direct tact, calling the decision “comedy” and pointing to the EA Sports FC series’ consistent 3+ rating despite prominently featuring actual gambling in the form of loot boxes.
The slot machine-themed Luck Be a Landlord’s rating was also downgraded today via appeal by publisher Fangamer. Moving forward, PEGI promises to “develop a more granular set of classification criteria to handle gambling themes and the simulation, teaching and glamorization of gambling in different age categories.”
“This is a good step from PEGI, bringing nuance to their ratings criteria that used to be 18+ or nothing,” LocalThunk said on Bluesky. “I hope this change will allow developers to create without being unfairly punished.”