Balatro publisher Playstack only discovered it because they had a guy checking all the new releases on Steam every day: 'I saw the game the day it went up on Steam'
Playstack discovered the indie game Balatro by scouting new releases on Steam daily. The head of discovery, Patrick Johnson, emphasized the importance of consistent effort in finding promising games. Despite Balatro's initial lack of popularity, Playstack decided to reach out to its developer, LocalThunk, leading to a pivotal moment for the game's future.
- ▪Playstack's head of discovery, Patrick Johnson, checks new Steam releases every day.
- ▪Balatro was initially an unknown game with few followers and wishlists on Steam.
- ▪Johnson contacted LocalThunk on Twitter after seeing Balatro's potential.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Games Card Game Balatro Balatro publisher Playstack only discovered it because they had a guy checking all the new releases on Steam every day: 'I saw the game the day it went up on Steam' News By Ted Litchfield published 30 May 2026 "I went to Twitter at the time and contacted LocalThunk. I think he had maybe two or three followers." When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: BAFTA) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter As part of a talk highlighted in the 2026 GDC Trends Report, Playstack head of discovery Patrick Johnson explained how the indie publisher got…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at PC Gamer.
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