Balatro publisher Playstack boasts “hit ratio” of over 85%

More than 85% of the games published by indie label Playstack generate a positive return on its external development investment.

That’s according to the firm’s parent company TruFin – as spotted by Game Developer – which wrote in its annual report that every game that the publisher released in 2025 is “on track” to return their investment.

Playstack made £55.3 million in gross revenue during 2025, a 24% increase year-on-year, and 83.9% of TruFin’s total revenue for the year. The firm’s net revenue was £21.1 million, a 30% increase year-on-year, while Playstack’s EBITDA rose 20% to hit £13.5 million.

Games in the label’s portfolio were downloaded more than 20 million times during the year, and were played for over 150 million hours, too.

TruFin added that Playstack’s overall return on investment development capital is more than 300% across its console portfolio. Over on Steam, the company’s portfolio has made over $100 million in lifetime revenue.

“Playstack is exceptionally well-positioned to build on this momentum in 2026 and beyond,” TruFin wrote.

Buried in TruFin’s report is the news that Playstack hopes to become B Corp certified by 2030 on the back of its sustainability practices and involvement with charity.

Last year, Playstack also wrote down £1 million on a loan it had given to the German studio Storm Chaser.

Playstack is most often associated with indie card game hit Balatro, which debuted in February 2024. The title grossed over $1 million in its first eight hours on sale, going on to sell one million units within a month of launch.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz last year, Playstack boss Harvey Elliott described Balatro as “a changer” for both his company and the industry at large.

“I think it’s really shown, once again, [that] when great, highly captivating games come to market, it doesn’t matter if it’s made by one person or a hundred people,” he said.

“They can reach audiences in new ways. It’s what we set out to make, and the kind of game we set out to find with Playstack.

“What has changed for us is that it’s given us a bit of confidence – or a bit more confidence. It’s great to get reinforcement of the sorts of games we look for and the strategy we’ve set out on.”