If you have been eagerly awaiting news on when Balatro's promised 1.1 update will arrive, we do have something to share on that front, even if it isn't inherently positive.
Developer LocalThunk has posted a blog post where he explains that the promised update is still on the way but that it's a while off. It will no longer be debuting in 2025 and the reason for this is that they are taking their time with it and are getting back to their more typical development cadence for the game, which is simply a few hours a day as they are a "hobbyist developer at heart and I love to tinker."
As explained by LocalThunk: "I took a break from everything to do with the game for a few months until the start of 2025 when I very slowly eased myself back into the work. However, I chose to only work on the game like I did when the project began, as a hobbyist (a few hours per day, and not always on the 1.1 update), and it turns out that it's a lot slower than working in crunch mode 12 hours per day like I was around launch."
They also state that they have never once imposed a deadline for getting things done for Balatro and won't start now, which is why they don't intend to make the previously planned 2025 launch date for the update.
This being said, if you're concerned this approach might lead to the game being abandoned by LocalThunk soon, they also explain: "I posted a few months ago that I finally got 100% of the achievements in Balatro, and for a bit of reassurance, the Balatro player in me will absolutely not allow me walk away from developing this game. I'm already super excited to try and 100% the game all over again from a second profile when 1.1 is ready. Rest assured, it will happen."