Out of nowhere, Balatro has just hit Game Pass

Game Pass subscribers can now enjoy our 2024 GOTY Balatro, plus new crossover cards featuring Fallout, Civ, DBD, and more has dropped.

Balatro recently celebrated its first birthday, and despite millions of players getting hooked on its satisfying, roguelike gameplay, it’s just opened itself up to millions more. While its modest price has always made it super affordable to pick up, Game Pass subscribers now have zero excuses for playing one of the best indie games ever. That’s right – in a surprise announcement, Balatro has just been added to Game Pass. Oh, and its next collection of cards has been revealed too, featuring crossovers with Fallout, Civilization, Assassin’s Creed, and more.

Even if you’re yet to get hooked on Balatro, chances are you know someone that is. One of the best card games ever made, this addictive twist on poker has been an absolute sensation – it’s even spawning its own subgenre of Balatro-likes where other popular card or tabletop games are getting similar roguelike twists. It’s so good, we even crowned it our 2024 Game of the Year. Now, this absolute sensation is available for the millions of you subbed to Game Pass.

During today’s ID@Xbox showcase, Balatro revealed out of the blue that it is now one of the best Game Pass games. While the stream featured loads of exciting upcoming titles that would also be hitting the service in the future, Balatro’s addition might just trump them all.

So, you can play Balatro on PC Game Pass right now. But that wasn’t the only surprise it had for fans.

Its fourth set of crossover cards, Friends of Jimbo 4, is also live in the game right now. In past packs we’ve seen collabs with Warframe, Cyberpunk 2077, Stardew Valley, and more, but Friends of Jimbo 4 might be the most stacked collection yet. Here you’ll find Fallout’s Vault Boy, Ezio from Assassin’s Creed, various rulers from the Civilization series, plus characters from Dead By Daylight, Rust, Slay the Princess, Bugsnax, and the Critical Role D&D universe.

So, with Balatro more accessible than ever, please go and play it – you won’t regret it. If my high praise really can’t convince you, though, here are some of the best indie games of all time instead. Or, you can look ahead to some of the newcomers arriving this year with our upcoming PC games list.

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