"Controversy Surrounds Balatro's Removal from Stores Over Rating Issues"

TL;DR Summary
Playstack Games defends its poker roguelike game Balatro after it disappears from certain stores, attributing the removal to a sudden change in its age rating from 3+ to 18+ due to concerns about gambling imagery. The publisher insists that the game does not encourage gambling and is working to resolve the issue, while the developer, LocalThunk, also asserts that the game does not contain gambling. Balatro's availability on different platforms remains uncertain, but Playstack is confident it will return to PC storefronts and possibly with a temporary 18+ rating.
- Balatro Devs Argue Poker Roguelike Does Not Encourage Gambling as It Vanishes From Some Stores IGN
- Hit Card Game Balatro Yanked From Switch Over Rating Mistake Kotaku
- Rogue-like poker hit Balatro pulled from sale in some countries due to unexpected ratings change Eurogamer.net
- Balatro bumped from some console storefronts due to ratings change The Verge
- Balatro runs into rating trouble GamesIndustry.biz
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