PokerStars to Shut Down Power Up Game, Phase in New Hold'em Variants
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The most high-profile attempt yet to draw the esports crowd into poker appears to be closing up shop.
According to a Poker Industry PRO report ($) earlier this week, PokerStars will be shutting down its Power Up game at some point in the near future.
While a link on the PokerStars website indicates the game is still live, a PokerStars rep confirmed the reporting to PRO.
“PokerStars has made the decision to remove [Power Up] game from the poker client,” they said.
Lifespan of Power Up
The first news of Power Up hit the wire in early 2017.
It was then deployed for real money in October of that year, setting it apart from other esports/hold'em hybrids. Games were essentially three-handed sit-n-gos, and stakes available were relatively low, topping out at $15 games, according to PRO.
Power Up was a Hearthstone-like game that had its base in traditional hold'em. Starting with that base, developers gave the players different powers and abilities like switching out hole cards, exposing opponent cards and peeking at future streets.
PokerNews reviewed the game here.
After a little initial marketing and some support from PokerStars ambassadors, PokerStars didn't seem to push Power Up much, instead rolling out other novelty games like Split Hold'em and Showtime across 2018 and 2019.
Despite PRO quoting a PokerStars rep as saying Power Up had a "strong and loyal following," it doesn't seem the game ever caught on in a major way.
It wouldn't be alone in that sense among esports hybrids. Another title, HoldemX, became available in 2016 from Mediarex, the same company behind the Global Poker League. That game no longer appears to be available in the app stores, and its social media accounts have been dormant for more than three years.
Despite the apparent miss with Power Up, PRO did report that all of the money spent on development didn't turn out to be a waste for PokerStars, as the game engine built to power it is now behind all of PokerStars' online client.
More Games on Tap?
While users of Power Up may be unhappy to learn that it will soon be packed up and stored in PokerStars' attic somewhere, those looking for the next new game should soon be getting welcome news from the world's leading online poker operator.
Another report from PRO ($) indicated two new games are on the horizon: Tempest Hold'em and Deep Water Hold'em.
No details about the games leaked, other than that they'll be offered for "a limited period."
The Stars Group is a majority shareholder in iBus Media.
