Balatro earned five nominations including the most acclaimed Game of the Year category. The developer of the game has responded to it being “completely surreal”

The Game Awards nomination announcement marks a notable achievement for the indie card-based roguelike game Balatro. The developer behind the game, Localthunk, described it as “a really surreal day.” in a Reddit post.

Furthermore, Localthunk believes that the  “game just happens to be the current face of this beautiful and passionate corner of the industry” crediting the success to the indie game community.

Balatro’s nomination became a controversy alongside Elden Ring’s DLC

This year’s nominations for the equivalent of the Oscars of the gaming world have been unique. The main reason is the allowance of DLC and expansion packs.

Although it was predictable that Elden Ring DLC’s nomination would become a controversy in the gaming world, many people are also not getting the reason for Balatro among the 6 titles of GOTY. They believe other games like Stellar Blade and Silent Hill 2 remake stood a better chance under this category than these two games.