This week, Full Tilt Poker announced that it has submitted an online poker app for distribution by the Steam online gaming service. The operator hopes to garner support from poker players and online gamers, as the Steam community votes on whether or not the app should be included in Steam’s extensive catalogue.
What is Steam?
Steam is an online games distribution service, which provides players with access to over 3000 games from both independent and mainstream developers. There are millions of players on the Steam network, which can be access from virtually all devices and technology platforms.
How Will The App Work?
Full Tilt has launched a teaser trailer for the new app, which offers up a quick look at the gameplay. It seems as though the Steam app will operate in a very similar fashion to the existing poker client. Players will have access to a wide range of cash games and tournaments.
The only difference is that the game will not be available for real-money play. Users will only be able to access the play-money versions of Full Tilt’s poker games.
How is the poker industry already represented on Steam?
At the moment, there are only a few poker games available on the Steam gaming network. These include: Poker Night, Governor of Poker, Poker Superstars, Pure Hold’Em and Telltale Texas Hold’em.
At the moment, there are no poker apps that have been designed by online poker developers, so Full Tilt is certainly making a ground-breaking step.
What are the benefits?
Bringing a major online poker developer to Steam will help to get more players interested in the game. With millions of users, the Steam community is the perfect platform through which Full Tilt can expand to a wider audience. Full Tilt’s inclusion in the Steam network may even inspire other online poker operators to follow suit.
Online poker is only as good as its community. So, it is important for there to be an extensive pool of players in order to keep things interesting, and keep the game evolving.
What are the downsides?
This project may experience the same criticism that play-money casino games saw when they first made their way on to Facebook. Some users may be concerned about young players having access to an online poker game on the Steam platform.
What is the response like so far?
Steam users are already casting their votes, and the response seems positive. While we can’t see exactly how many ‘yes’ votes the app has received so far, the comments section is buzzing. At the moment, there are over 50 comments – all of which are expressing support for Full Tilt’s poker app on Steam.
