Card games and video games go together well, as seen in titles like Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Online that lets certain regions play poker in Wild West saloons. However, some developers try to make card games the full experience rather than just a minigame, as is the case with Ripstone Games’ upcoming Poker Club.
Billed as, “The most immersive poker game ever made,” Poker Club was announced today with plans to launch on PC, current platforms, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X sometime in 2020. Its minute-long trailer focuses primarily on the tension of each individual game while players try to “make a name for yourself,” competing at different venues like back-room tables, hotel suites, casinos, and tournaments.
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The game will offer players daily online events, as well as over ten Texas Hold’em modes, according to its website. Visuals and performance on next-gen consoles are a big selling point for Poker Club, as the developers promise Ultra HD 4K capabilities and full RTX ray tracing support. Director Phil Gaskell told IGN that Ripstone has also leaned heavily into solid-state drives on the PS5 and Xbox Series X, so “loading is now practically nonexistent, it makes the whole experience feel seamless.”
Online functionality is another selling point in Poker Club‘s marketing. Its website describes being able to join a Club with friends who can all work together to earn rewards like character cosmetics and unlock shared goals, though there will also be more basic social features like private rooms and large tournaments, according to IGN.
Though Poker Club appears to stand out for its focus on realism, graphical capabilities on next-gen hardware, and online support, it is not the only game in development looking to capture the world of high-stakes cards. A more stylized take on the idea is the Nintendo Switch game Card Shark releasing in 2021, which drops players into the 18th century to learn real card tricks so they can cheat unsuspecting NPCs.
While it is common to see games like Texas Hold’em appear as part of a larger collection, such as the multiplayer minigames in Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics, Ripstone hopes its poker-focused title will showcase the power of next-gen hardware. Gaskell said, “Whereas before in game development you had to pick and choose your battles … With the power of these new consoles, we can choose everything, it’s a no compromise experience.”
Poker Club is scheduled to release on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X in 2020.
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Sources: Poker Club, IGN