As part of a wave of nostalgia, Apple this week released its Texas Hold’em game for iOS. The game, which was released over 11 years ago, was the first game ever sold on the App Store, which Apple claiming that the update is to celebrate “the 10 year anniversary of the App Store.”
The new update adds new characters, modernized visuals, and an update for the 64-bit architecture that Apple launched with iOS 11, along with support for the far larger screen sizes that Apple devices now have, compared to 2008.
From its own end, Texas Hold’em represents a fair amount of history for Apple. The original version was one of the first games that debuted for the click wheel iPad in 2006. Apple, in turn, continued to use Texas Hold’em as an early tech demo when it launched the App Store in 2008, showing developers the kinds of games that could be made using Apple’s SDK and how the iPhone’s touch interface could be used to offer new gameplay experiences.
Apple never really updated Texas Hold’em after that release, though. The version history on the App Store only lists one other update, and the game was eventually removed from the store in 2011.
The updated version is now a free app (with no in-app purchases), instead of the $4.99 it originally cost when it first launched. It’s available to download on the App Store for anyone looking for a nice dose of iPhone nostalgia and a fun way to slay a few free minutes on your iOS device.
The app weighs in as a 1.5 gigabyte download, so be sure to clear some space on your device before snagging it.
Via TechCrunch, 9to5Mac and the App Store