Canadian indie developer LocalThunk has won in the “Delight and Fun” category at the 2025 Apple Design Awards for Balatro, a hit digital card game blending poker, roguelike, and deck-building mechanics. Sharing the award with China’s CapWords, LocalThunk beat out nominees including Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia.
Based in Regina, LocalThunk remains pseudonymous and is represented by publisher Playstack. Balatro has sold over five million copies and previously won Game of the Year at the Game Developers Conference. Apple’s award precedes WWDC and highlights standout creative use of its platforms.
Want to know more? Check out the source code on BetaKit.