You've Probably Been Mispronouncing Balatro All Along, Similar to the Gif/Jif Debate
A deep dive into the proper pronunciation of Balatro and its cultural impact in the gaming community.
Balatro wasn’t just PC Gamer’s Game of the Year 2024; it seems that nearly every game developer is hooked on it, including the notable Swen Vincke. Unfortunately, things have now taken a rather unsettling turn regarding its pronunciation.
The properly accepted pronunciation of Balatro is not what many believed. While many in the PC Gamer team, including myself, say it as Ba-lah-tro, Stephen Totilo from Game File recently interviewed Naman Budhwar, the head of marketing at Playstack, who reported otherwise.
“BAH-luh-trow is the pronunciation preferred by LocalThunk,” Budhwar explains. “It can be a bit like the ‘gif/jif’ conundrum; we don’t mind how others choose to pronounce it.”
Totilo jokingly suggested a variation like “BAY-la-tro,” which Budhwar humorously entertained.
In a related audio clip, you can experience this pronunciation in the official game trailer.
My disappointment is immeasurable, my day is ruined, and it brings to mind previous instances where game pronunciation caused cultural contentions, such as John Romero’s regarding ‘gib’.
