Indie hit Poker game Balatro is also coming to iPhone

The hugely popular roguelike Poker game Balatro is coming to iPhone.

The decision to port it to mobile devices is unlikely to come as much of a surprise – Balatro is already a success story, clocking up “overwhelmingly positive” reviews on Steam since it released last month despite controversy around its rating – but it'll welcome news for players who don't have a Steam Deck or Switch to play it on the go.

Right now, developer Localthunk is not confirming when, exactly, the iOS version of the deckbuilder will be available, but did tell iMore (thanks, VGC) that future updates will include “possibly more secrets”, and teased that there is a “new and interesting design space [he’s] excited to explore.”

“I'll keep on working on Balatro, still plenty to do!” Localthunk added. “But yes, I love the idea of ​​creating twisted versions of other familiar games.”

In a recent AMA session on reddit, Localthunk was asked for comment on how PEGI mishandled the game's rating after it was pulled from sale in some countries due to a “mistaken belief that the game 'contains prominent gambling imagery and materials that instructs about gambling' “, as per publisher Playstack's statement at the time.

“I still believe that the rating is unwarranted, but there is some gray area for interpretation from PEGI, and at this point, it is what it is,” localthunk said at the time. “I think the one thing I am most disappointed by is the fact that other games with actual gambling mechanics aren't rated the same way because of their appearance/theme.”

“Over the last few weeks it has taken over the gaming world completely, and I can see why,” reads our Balatro Eurogamer review. “A poker roguelike is such a brilliant idea you almost don't need to make it to see how clever it is. There are a few of these, and Balatro is comfortably the best I've played. It really is ingenious – and it's also ingeniously simple.”