Breakout indie hit Balatro received huge on the BAFTA Video games Awards final evening (April 8) – and their acceptance speech has gone viral.
Balatro was launched final 12 months for Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Change and PC. A reworked tackle Poker, the additive card sport went on to promote greater than 3.5million copies and acquired rave evaluations throughout the board. It received Greatest Indie at The Sport Awards in December and final evening, picked up the Debut Sport trophy on the BAFTA Video games Awards.
Actor Ben Starr accepted the award whereas dressed up like Balatro’s Joker mascot and his speech is now going viral throughout social media.
“That is bizarre. That is bizarre, isn’t it,” he stated, taking to the stage of London’s Elizabeth Corridor. “Sure, it’s me, that bizarre live-action Jimbo from the Balatro industrial. For these of you who aren’t chronically on-line, this could be a fairly complicated and, at first look, arousing second. However don’t fear, it’s completely pure. Don’t struggle the sensation, Jokers have full intercourse now.”
“However wait, Ben didn’t make this sport. ‘Why’s he up right here’, I hear you say like a loser. You might have a degree but additionally, screw you a little bit, that hurts my emotions. So what if my solely contribution to Balatro was that trailer and a little bit of sucking on a banana for just a few seconds,” he continued, referencing one memorable advert for the sport.
“However I ask you this: Isn’t promoting stuff good? What’s artwork in 2025 however a thinly veiled vessel of ruthless industrial self-interest by means of which wealthy individuals attempt to make much more cash?”
“And I can say having met him personally, LocalThunk is absolutely wealthy now,” he continued, playfully mocking Balatro’s creator. “He has footwear fabricated from gold and he thanks you for making him that method. He says right here on the backside, he needs he may thank extra individuals, but when he’s being trustworthy, it was simply him who made it. Everybody else is a freeloader, particularly PlayStack (who printed the sport).”
Starr completed up by encouraging individuals to “play extra unbiased video games” and gave a shout out to fellow indie title Animal Effectively, which was nominated in 4 classes on the 2025 BAFTA Video games Awards. “Unbiased video games are the lifeblood of this trade they usually deserve your respect.”
I am glad balatro received as a result of in any other case Ben would’ve needed to sit by means of a complete awards present dressed like Jimbo because the digicam stored panning over him after which he’d simply need to quietly and awkwardly depart. https://t.co/vZGvpSDCnu
— Scrap (@ScrapXIV) April 8, 2025
The speech has been praised throughout social media. “I can’t stress it sufficient, LocalThunk might be one of the best sport developer of 2024 and 2025. Not as a result of the sport he made was wonderful however as a result of he WANTS you to assist the one video games which can be making gaming enjoyable,” wrote one fan.
“The aim of jokers was all the time to have the ability to safely communicate fact to energy as a result of they wore make-up & a foolish hat & made humorous jokes in-between statements of brutal honesty. Jimbo’s acceptance speech could be essentially the most trustworthy portrayal of a Joker in trendy historical past,” added one other. “That is completely good,” wrote a 3rd.
“I’m glad Balatro received as a result of in any other case Ben would’ve needed to sit by means of a complete awards present dressed like Jimbo because the digicam stored panning over him after which he’d simply need to quietly and awkwardly depart,” stated one other fan.
After the awards had been accomplished, Balatro developer LocalThunk posted on social media. “Anybody see Jimbo strolling round with a BAFTA,” he requested. “My dude locked me within the toilet and wrote his personal speech.”
In different information, a variety of stops on the European leg of the PlayStation: The Live performance tour are being quietly cancelled. In response to a consultant, the UK leg is “completely” nonetheless going forward although.
