One of the year’s best games is coming to mobile—and now I have no excuse not to try it

One of 2024’s best games is making its way to mobile later this year—meaning that I, and anyone else yet to dive in, have no reason not to try it.

Balatro was released in February and quickly made an impression, boasting an all-time peak on Steam of just under 38,000 players. Given that it’s a poker-themed roguelite, those numbers are incredible, and the player base is going to get even bigger.

Posting on X (formerly Twitter) today, Balatro’s official account announced a mobile release date of Sept. 26 and will include the recent Friends of Jimbo update that introduced collaborations with The Witcher, Vampire Survivors, Among Us, and Dave the Diver.

Despite already being on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox, I have continued to evade Balatro despite my enjoyment of roguelites and eagerness to learn what I’m supposed to do in poker. With a move to mobile, though, it feels like this has to be the end of my Balatro dry spell.

Balatro’s move to mobile is certainly going to ruffle some feathers in any office due to a lack of productivity and may cause marital arguments due to how good I’ve been told it is. In fact, the game’s solo dev even posted “I’m sorry” after the announcement of the mobile port.

Being able to play Balatro on the go will certainly appeal to players, particularly those stuck with long commutes or tedious encounters with the in-laws. But the flip side is you may not get everything done on your real-life to-do list.

You will, at least, be able to win some virtual stonks and become a poker pro, all while enjoying collaborations with some huge titles, so it’s worth it.