Apple’s Texas Hold’em game was released over 11 years ago for the iPhone as the first game ever sold on the App Store. Today, seemingly out of nowhere, Apple has updated the game with a refreshed version that actually works on today’s iPhones, as spotted by 9to5Mac.

The App Store page for Texas Hold’em claims that the update is to celebrate “the 10 year anniversary of the App Store.” That’s a bit strange: the App Store’s 10th anniversary — which, not coincidentally, was the same day that Texas Hold’em launched for the iPhone — was last July. But better late than never, I guess.

The new update adds new characters, modernized visuals, and, most importantly, 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.

Texas Hold’em is a game with a fair amount of history for Apple. The original version actually launched as one of the first games for the click wheel iPod back in 2006. Apple continued to use Texas Hold’em as an early tech demo when it was released as the first game on 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.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/8/20686528/apple-texas-holdem-game-iphone-ten-years-app-store