Balatro Could Rival Fortnite In One Big Way

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home December 28, 2024 14 Views 5 Min Read
Balatro Could Rival Fortnite In One Big Way



For the last decade or so, there’s been at least one indie game every year that comes out of nowhere and becomes an absolute sensation for a little while. Balatro is that indie sensation this year. But rather than fizzle out after a few months, Balatro‘s popularity has only continued to grow.

Released back in February for PC and consoles, Balatro managed to sell over 1 million copies in just less than a month, becoming publisher PlayStack’s fastest-selling game. Those numbers have continued to build over the year, thanks in no small part to Balatro‘s mobile ports that were released in September. As of December, Balatro has surpassed 3.5 million copies, and it’s earned itself three prestigious Game Awards. But Balatro still has plenty of gas left in the tank, and if it keeps excelling in one specific area, it might end up rivaling Fortnite very soon.

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Balatro Could Soon Rival Fortnite’s Collaborations

Balatro Has Released a Plethora of Crossovers In The Last Few Months

Back in August, Balatro announced that a free DLC had been added to the game, bringing four new cosmetic sets to the deck-builder. Titled “Friends of Jimbo,” this free update’s cosmetics were all themed around different video game franchises, including Among Us, Dave the Diver, Vampire Survivors, and The Witcher 3.

In October, a second Friends of Jimbo DLC was added to Balatro, again for no additional charge. This second round of crossovers added cards based on The Binding of Isaac, Stardew Valley, Slay the Spire, and Cyberpunk 2077. A third (and presumably final) Friends of Jimbo DLC was added earlier this month, coinciding with Balatro‘s Game Awards victories.

This DLC was the biggest of the lot, adding twice as many crossover cards as the previous packs. These collaborations include Warframe, 1000xResist, Cult of the Lamb, Don’t Starve, Enter the Gungeon, Shovel Knight, Potion Craft, and Divinity: Original Sin 2.

Along with these crossover cosmetics in Balatro, a few collaborators have decided to add Balatro content into their own game. Dave the Diver and Cyberpunk 2077, for instance, have added entire questlines based on 2024’s most prominent deck-builder.

Balatro’s Friends of Jimbo Packs Could Be Just The Beginning

In the span of just four months, Balatro has gone from having no collaborations to having a total of 16, all of which run the gamut of the video game industry, from major AAA franchises like Cyberpunk and The Witcher, to smaller indie titles like 1000xResist and Potion Craft. It’s great to see such a wealth of representation in Balatro‘s crossovers, and every crossover so far has proven just how versatile Balatro‘s uniquely pixelated art style can be.

While Balatro certainly doesn’t need to add any more crossovers to continue being successful, it likely wouldn’t hurt to keep going, with each collaboration drawing attention to both titles at once. Balatro could even start to collaborate with other mediums, such as TV and movies, adding cards based on upcoming blockbusters like new Marvel Cinematic Universe releases.

Balatro has opened the crossover floodgates in style over these past few months, and if it keeps adding more at the same rate, then it could even end up giving Fortnite a run for its money.

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