Surprise! Balatro has shadow dropped on Game Pass
Balatro, the highly-acclaimed card-based roguelike from developer Local Thunk, is now available via Xbox Game Pass. It arrives alongside a new bit of free DLC featuring collaobrations from Dead by Daylight, Civilization 7, Fallout, and more.
As announced during Microsoft’s latest ID@Xbox showcase, Balatro can be enjoyed by Game Pass subscribers right now – and its arrival brings a fresh set of cosmetic card skins featuring fan-favourite characters from across a range of titles.
Friends of Jimbo Pack 4, as the DLC is known, has more of a blockbuster focus compared to Balatro’s previous, predominantly indie-themed collaborations. Now, players can adorn the back of their decks with the likes of Vault Boy from the Fallout series, Assassin’s Creed’s Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Bugsnax protagonist The Journalist, and Dead by Daylight’s The Hillbilly.
Other games represented in Friends of Jimbo Pack 4 include Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Rust, and Slay the Princess. Critical Role’s Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III is in there too. And if that appeals, the DLC is available right now on all platforms.
Balatro first launched on Xbox alongside versions for PC, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch a year ago. A smartphone edition for iPhone and Android devices followed last September.
It’s fair to say Balatro has been a smash hit, with more than five million copies sold of its roguish poker-inspired cardplay, despite its controversial 18+ age rating – which is finally getting overturned in the EU, and replaced by a PEGI 12 rating instead.
Since its release, Balatro has added further cards via updates that have included crossovers with major gaming franchises such as The Witcher, Among Us and Vampire Survivor.
Here on Eurogamer, Balatro was one of our favourite games of 2024. “It’s a work of marvellous depth and winning simplicity, and rightly one of the best and most memorable games you’ll play this year,” our Katharine wrote.
