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The release of Balatro has been met with plenty of praise for the game. It’s lightweight, innovative, and above all else it’s fun. However, you might be wondering about the specific platforms the game is available on. Gamers coming over from Mobile devices will definitely be wondering whether or not Balatro is on Android and iOS devices. Here’s what we know:
Is Balatro on mobile devices?
At the moment, Balatro is only available on Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and Windows. Balatro was developed using love2d, a very lightweight game engine with compatibility with a slew of platforms. While modern consoles and PCs are included, so are mobile platforms such as Android and iOS. However, porting and optimising the game for these platforms is no easy task, and would require further development time to get everything right, including Plasma Decks.
Is Balatro coming to Android?
There’s no official way to play the game on Android yet, but that doesn’t mean that the game can’t be ported over in due course. The design of the game lends itself to touchscreen play incredibly well, virtually only using the mouse as input. In the same way that TCGs such as MTG Arena and now Pokémon TCG Pocket play incredibly well on handheld touchscreen devices (I exclusively play MTG Arena on my iPad), Balatro seems like a welcome fit for the best smartphones for gaming.
Is Balatro coming to iOS?
Balatro isn’t available on iOS either, but like with Android, the possibility is always there. If we do end up seeing mobile ports of the game coming; it likely won’t be for the next couple of months. Generally, it takes anywhere between half a year, and a full year, to see a game fully ported to another platform with decent optimisation and performance. Stable ports, on the other hand, can take even longer.
We’d be more likely to see Balatro on Mac devices before we do on mobile, though the possibility is still there.
Why is Balatro not on mobile devices?
Balatro’s launch has seen a sort of viral success. Apparently generating over $1m in just under eight hours, the game’s developer has been launched into success and fame overnight. By the way, when I say developer; I don’t mean a company or team, I mean a single programmer.
Since there’s only one developer working on the viral success, you can expect there to be some sacrifices. Mobile devices is likely one of them. That said, the developer has mentioned on his Discord that mobile device platform compatibility is in the roadmap for the game, just when isn’t entirely concrete.
That’s as much as we have on Balatro. While we wait for an update on iOS and Android release dates, consider having a look at the Balatro Cheat Engine instead.
