Microgaming is primarily an online casino games company, offering online pokies and other forms of casino gaming. However, it now appears that the company is getting back into online poker. The company is planning to release new poker games in December. They are offering Hold’em Poker as one of a new slate of online poker gaming products.
Microgaming Gets Back into Online Poker
Some of you may remember that the Microgaming Poker Network closed sometime in 2019. While the company has not offered online poker in Australia for some time, the company has been one of the oldest online poker providers in the world. The closure of MPN was a surprise to many and some assumed that the company would focus on its casino games business.
Microgaming is planning for Hold'Em Poker to be just the first in a suite of poker titles to join its casino products. The follow-up will be called Lucky Showdown, which to me sounds like potentially an all-in-or-fold game?
— Nick Jones (@pokerprojones) October 29, 2020
That all changed last week when the company announced that it will soon offer online poker games once again. Its initial offering will be Hold’em Poker. In a press release issued by the company last week, Microgaming lists Hold’em Poker as a “sophisticated brand of classic Texas Hold’em which aims to immerse players in a realistic poker environment.
Looking closer at the game, the game is listed as a “fast-paced €5 buy-in Sit & Go tournament” with a prize wheel that spins at the beginning of the game to determine a prize pool. There will also be a progressive jackpot that starts at €25,000.
If this sounds familiar to you, that’s because this is a variant on jackpot Sit & Go tournaments that you see at many online poker sites. Generally, the games consist of three to four players with a Winner Takes All format. While still beatable, there’s a lot more variance with these games than standard SNGs.
Hold’em Poker to Launch December 9
Players won’t have to wait long for the launch of Hold’em Poker. The game is slated for a limited release on December 1st and a full rollout on December 9th. It is unclear whether this game will be available as a standalone product or merely an extension of online casinos.
According to Microgaming CEO John Coleman, “Hold’Em Poker will add a new dimension to our online casino vertical, introducing a range of fun and exciting poker games to our platform. Designed to appeal to both poker and casino players, these games will deliver even further choice to our customers as we continue to diversify and innovate our content offering.”
Microgaming is planning for Hold'Em Poker to be just the first in a suite of poker titles to join its casino products. The follow-up will be called Lucky Showdown, which to me sounds like potentially an all-in-or-fold game?
— Nick Jones (@pokerprojones) October 29, 2020
Hold’em Poker is not the only title Microgaming will release. According to the press release, Lucky Showdown is another title they will release in upcoming months. The company did not share details regarding Lucky Showdown. The title seems to indicate this to be more of a casino poker game than a true online poker game.
Will Microgaming Be Able to Profit in an Oversaturated Poker Market
The big question now is whether Microgaming will be able to turn a profit in online poker. Major oversaturation presently exists in the online poker market. There are many online poker sites out there. Sites like PokerStars, 888poker, partypoker, and GGPoker take up the majority of the online poker share.
If these games are planned parts of a new online poker gaming network, it will be interesting to see whether Microgaming will be able to succeed. However, if this is merely an extension of existing online casino offerings, it may prove a fun alternative to standard online casino games. Presently, only games like Poker3 Heads Up Hold’em offer anything close to an online poker experience. Hold’em Poker and other poker games could give Australian online casino players an option for online poker that they would not normally have.