Free Texas Hold ‘Em Poker Planned for Xbox 360 Live Arcade

As part of his regular podcast, Microsoft’s Xbox Live Director of Programming Larry ‘Major Nelson’ Hryb has interviewed fellow Microsoft employee and Xbox Live Arcade Group Manager Greg Canessa, regarding the past, present and future of Xbox Live Arcade.

Overall, Microsoft is hoping to release around 3 games each month on Xbox Live Arcade for the Xbox 360, but looking to expand that even further - Canessa commented that he “thinks there’s an appetite for 5 or 6 a month”, and has so far committed to 35 titles by summer. In addition, Canessa discussed offering download-quality games for free ‘presented by’ a sponsor, but in “a very limited number” of cases. The first game will be Texas Hold ‘Em Poker, presented in conjunction with casino company River Belle - though obviously, players will not be able to bet real money.

Gamasutra - Xbox 360 Live Arcade Plans Revealed, Discussed