It’s been a big day for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. Following today’s announcement that To a T will be coming to Game Pass in May, LocalThunk has revealed that Balatro will be available on the service at some point today. As of this writing, Balatro does not seem to be up on Xbox consoles; a search on Xbox Series X|S and the mobile app only brings up the Microsoft Store and the game’s $14.99 price point. Hopefully it won’t be too much longer before it becomes playable. In addition to the news of Balatro‘s Game Pass arrival, LocalThunk has pulled back the curtain on Friends of Jimbo (Pack 4).
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The new Balatro update will contain collaborations with several different games. Players can expect to see Assassin’s Creed, Bugsnax, Slay the Princess, Fallout, Dead by Daylight, Rust, and more represented. This might be the most high-profile Friends of Jimbo update so far, and it’s a testament to Balatro‘s massive popularity. The new update will be available today on all of the game’s current platforms, including consoles, PC, and mobile. A trailer featuring the new card options can be found below.
The release of Balatro on Xbox Game Pass is a pretty big deal. The game released in February 2024 to rave reviews, and won numerous awards throughout the year. Most notably, Balatro received five nominations at The Game Awards, including overall Game of the Year. Balatro came up short against Astro Bot, but it did manage to take home the awards for Best Independent Game, Best Debut Indie Game, and Best Mobile Game. For those that didn’t give it a try last year, or somehow weren’t aware of it, its availability on Xbox Game Pass should open up Balatro to a new audience.
One of the greatest things about Xbox Game Pass is that it gives subscribers an excuse to try something they might not have otherwise. The service isn’t perfect, but it does help build a lot of awareness around games, and that can often lead to interest even on non-Xbox platforms. It’s almost impossible to imagine anyone that isn’t aware of Balatro at this point, but the game’s card based gameplay might have made some potential players hesitant to spend the money on it. Now that it’s included in Game Pass subscriptions, there’s really no excuse not to see what the fuss is about.
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Following Balatro‘s release, there’s just one more game left to arrive on Xbox Game Pass in the month of February. On February 25th, Watch Dogs: Legion will be released on console, PC, and cloud, through Game Pass Standard, Ultimate, and PC. Though February is quickly drawing to a close, we can probably expect to hear next week about the Xbox Game Pass lineup for the first half of March.
Are you excited about Balatro coming to Xbox Game Pass? Have you been looking for an excuse to try the game? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
