Idle Games, the indie studio that brought us the wonderful Idle Worship, is coming back with something completely different: Fresh Deck Poker, a cross-platform, social and mobile poker game that will create an “ultra-realistic, authentic” poker experience with drop-in, drop-out gameplay, fantastic art, multiple game types and, someday, real-money cash to be won.
Idle Games, the indie studio that brought us the wonderful Idle Worship, is coming back with something completely different: Fresh Deck Poker, a cross-platform, social and mobile poker game that will create an “ultra-realistic, authentic” poker experience with drop-in, drop-out gameplay, fantastic art, multiple game types and, someday, real-money cash to be won.
Online poker gamers are hardly a rare beast, but Fresh Deck Poker will attempt to set itself apart from the crowd with highly detailed environments, an optional first-person perspective that provides an “at the table” feel, fully customizable avatars, and “massive” multi-table tournaments. Players will level up as they go, unlocking special avatar items, new tables and “unique challenges,” and will also have a chance to try their luck with “Reel Poker,” a slot-machine mini-game that will let players earn in-game rewards.
Along with conventional poker play, Fresh Deck Poker will also offer regular and Turbo-speed “Sit-n-Go’s,” and six and nine-handed Ring Game tables at all stakes – a pretty big addition for people who are familiar with the game.
Real-money online gambling is a notoriously thorny issue, so although Fresh Deck Poker is being developed to support it, players won’t actually be able to put cash on the table until the activity is legalized in the U.S., something that could still be a couple of years (or possibly more) away. In the meantime, the game will incorporate two separate currencies, “gold” and “chips,” to support real-money transactions for in-game purchasing.
There’s not a lot to see on the game’s Facebook page, but the few avatar images on display do look very sharp and detailed. Whether or not it can distinguish itself in a very crowded, grey field of online poker games is a big question, but even if it’s just “more poker,” it should be awfully pretty. Fresk Deck Poker is being developed for iOS devices and Facebook, with cross-platform play and even the ability to switch between devices on the fly. A beta release is currently planned for the end of July, while a full-scale global launch on both Facebook and iOS is expected to happen in September.
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