The anonymous solo developer behind hit poker roguelike Balatro said that part of him regrets the game’s success as he misses it when creating games was just a hobby.

LocalThunk, as he is known, wishes to remain anonymous despite the game’s enormous success – the mobile release alone has reportedly grossed almost $4.4 million.

When asked in an interview with GQ if he regretted Balatro’s success, he replied: “Honestly, yes. Don’t get me wrong – this has changed my life in many amazing ways. I’m so grateful. But I miss it.” At the time, it was just a hobby that recharged my batteries: “Maybe I would have been happier if I had never made this game available to the public.”

The developer said he viewed making games as a hobby, but the success of Balatro brought him widespread attention. He even admitted that after this game he could retire alone and play games just for fun.

“Last year was by far the most stressful year of my life,” said LocalThunk. “Nowadays I’m trying to think about what can take me back to where I was when I did this – when it was a relaxing hobby. I want to go back there.”

He continued: “If I were to make another game after Balatro, which I’m not really thinking about at the moment, it would be really cathartic to do it and not show it to anyone. Put it in a folder on my desktop and leave it there.” . Just for me.”

Still, LocalThunk said he plans to continue updating the game in 2025 and has “lots of fun directions ideas” for Balatro, more than worth an update, although he doesn’t know how many he can implement.

However, more jokers are definite as he hasn’t added any since the game’s release.

Balatro is nominated for the big award at The Game Awards tonight. It’s even part of the latest Cyberpunk 2077 update as a secret quest in collaboration with CD Projekt Red.