YouTube says Nope! to age-gating Balatro videos

On Friday, the YouTube transmission Balatro University posted a video highlighting however immoderate of their videos had precocious been age-restricted aft the institution tightened its policies about gambling content. But successful a station Monday night, YouTube said the restrictions shouldn’t person been applied.

“Videos featuring Balatro gameplay should not beryllium age-restricted,” YouTube says successful a station connected X.  We’re reviewing the age-restrictions connected these videos and conducting a platform-wide review. Thanks for your patience arsenic we fix!”

YouTube’s station is simply a reply to Balatro’s anonymous developer, LocalThunk, who shared the Balatro University video Monday afternoon. “Good happening we are protecting children from knowing what a 4 of a benignant is and letting them ticker [Counter-Strike] lawsuit opening videos instead,” LocalThunk said.

Balatro, a roguelike that borrows ideas from poker, doesn’t really impact gambling. But the crippled received a PEGI 18 standing successful Europe aft it launched due to the fact that it “contains salient gambling imagery and worldly that instructs astir gambling,” arsenic quoted by steadfast Playstack at the time. LocalThunk besides expressed his displeasure with that rating.

However, successful February, PEGI revised Balatro’s standing to PEGI 12 pursuing an entreaty and said it would “develop a much granular acceptable of classification criteria to grip gambling themes and the simulation, teaching and glamorisation of gambling successful antithetic property categories.”