'You must have played this before!': Balatro's creator impressed bystanders with his Balatro skills at GDC, and nobody knew who he was

(Image credit: Playstack)

Balatro developer LocalThunk is notoriously private. It's not some kind of put-on: Wout van Halderen, communications director of Balatro publisher Playstack, told us at GDC that LocalThunk isn't "trying to pull a Banksy," he's just "a person who doesn't really like the spotlight," and choosing to stay anonymous helps him manage the pressures of his newfound success.

But like a king wandering incognito amongst his subjects, that anonymity also enables LocalThunk to get away with things that other, more recognizable developers never could. As an example, LocalThunk was actually at GDC, and took the opportunity to school the crowd with some slick Balatro moves, before fading away into the crowd like a half-heard whisper.

"One of my fav moments from GDC—they had a booth set up to play Balatro since it was an award nominee," LocalThunk revealed on Bluesky. "I watched for a bit then I gave it a go myself. Crushed a white stake run. Someone approached me as I was about to leave. 'Wow you must have played this before!' 'I guess you could say that'

"Also this was actually the first and only time I have seen strangers play my game in real life. Have yet to see Balatro in the wild. So as far as I'm concerned y'all are just Truman Show-ing me."

one of my fav moments from GDC - they had a booth set up to play Balatro since it was an award nominee. I watched for a bit then I gave it a go myself. Crushed a white stake runsomeone approached me as I was about to leave'Wow you must have played this before!''I guess you could say that' Also this was actually the first and only time I have seen strangers play my game in real life. Have yet to see Balatro in the wild. So as far as I'm concerned y'all are just Truman Show-ing me — (Image credit: LocalThunk (Bluesky))

LocalThunk's tale of ghosting through GDC inspired some fun responses:

They don't know I made Balatro — (Image credit: David Jalbert (Bluesky))

"What does high score mean? Is that bad? Did I break it?" — (Image credit: Nick Rounds (Bluesky))

"First time" — (Image credit: Ed Zitron (Bluesky))

A few people said LocalThunk's extremely public yet virtually invisible spin with Balatro at GDC reminded them not so much of Banksy, but another famous celebrity who goes places and does stuff almost entirely unnoticed by the world at large:

Is that your Tony Hawk moment — (Image credit: Anthony (Bluesky))

Reminds me of the Tony Hawk anecdotes — (Image credit: Altrix Studios (Bluesky))

TSA agent (checking my ID): "Hawk, like that skateboarder Tony Hawk!" — (Image credit: ThatSpacePirate (Bluesky))

One person recounted some advice they were given ahead of GDC: "[Don't] read the badges until AFTER you have talked to someone for at least a couple of minutes, so you don’t get star struck." LocalThunk's tale, they added, gave them another reason to stick to that policy.

Someone told me before I left for GDC not to read the badges until AFTER you have talked to someone for at least a couple of minutes, so you don’t get star struck.I’m adding another reason to that. :) — (Image credit: Nemesis Warlock (Bluesky))

In this case, though, I don't think reading the badge would've helped. Most people don't know LocalThunk's real name or what he looks like, and even if he'd been walking around with one of those "Hi! I'm LocalThunk" stickers on his shirt we probably wouldn't believe it anyway, unless he wore it while accepting top honors at the GDC Awards. In that case, well, maybe. But I hope he doesn't: Anonymity seems good for him, and it turns out it's kind of entertaining for all of us, too.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.