Software:Poker Night at the Inventory

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Short description: 2010 video game

Poker Night at the Inventory
Poker Night at the Inventory cover. Characters (Left to Right): Tycho Brahe, Max, the Heavy Weapons Guy (RED team), Strong Bad
Developer(s)Telltale Games[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)Telltale Games[lower-alpha 1]
Composer(s)Jared Emerson-Johnson
EngineTelltale Tool
Platform(s)
Release
  • Windows, OS X
  • November 22, 2010
  • Remaster
  • PS4, Switch, Windows
  • March 5, 2026
Genre(s)Card game
Mode(s)Single-player

Poker Night at the Inventory is a poker video game developed by Telltale Games. It features four characters from different franchises: Tycho Brahe from the Penny Arcade webcomic, Max from the Sam & Max franchise, the RED Heavy Weapons Guy from Team Fortress 2, and Strong Bad from the Homestar Runner web series. The game was released on November 22, 2010, and delisted from sale in 2019. A sequel, Poker Night 2, was released in 2013. A remaster by Skunkape Games was released on March 5, 2026 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Windows.

Gameplay

Gameplay of Poker Night at the Inventory showing the player winning a showdown with Max with a straight. Strong Bad and the Heavy have folded and Tycho has busted out. Strong Bad is saying "Nice hand, gigantic cheater." to the player.

Poker Night is a computer-based Texas Hold 'Em poker simulation between the player as an unseen silent participant and four computer-controlled characters: Max of Sam & Max, Strong Bad from Homestar Runner, the Heavy from Team Fortress 2, and Tycho from Penny Arcade. The game takes place in the Inventory, a secret club built underneath a video game storage warehouse. The game's backstory establishes the club as having been established in 1919 when its founder learned of an early draft of the 18th Amendment, which would have banned games and amusements in addition to alcohol; though this never came to pass, the club has existed since in secret, just in case Congress tried to set prohibition into law. Reginald Van Winslow from Tales of Monkey Island hosts the game and raises the blinds, while other characters from Telltale's games make cameo appearances in the introduction sequence.

Each player starts with a $10,000 buy-in for a total of $50,000 for the entire table and stays in the game until they are broke or until one player is left. The game uses no-limit betting and gradually-increasing blind bets over the course of several rounds. During some random events, one of the four non-playable characters will not be able to front the money but will offer one of their possessions as buy-in for the game. The player can win these items as Team Fortress 2 unlockable equipment only if they are the one to bust that non-player character out of the game. The game keeps track of the player's statistics over the course of several games; each time the player accrues a certain total number of wins, they will unlock different playing card or table artwork to customize the look of the game.[1]

Development

On May 15, 2009, Telltale Games started a survey which was meant to gauge fan reaction to a sequel to Telltale Texas Hold'em.[2] While the team liked the deep conversations that the characters in the original game had, they decided to not go down the same path for the new game, using recognizable licensed characters rather than original "generic" ones.[3]

Poker Night grew out of an idea from Telltale employees, wondering "what video characters do when they're not 'on the clock' in the games we play", according to Telltale CEO Dan Conners.[4] From there, they pitched the idea to other companies in the industry and were able to work out which characters they would be able to include.[4] Telltale considered how the four characters would interact with each other, developing dialog, banter, and reactions to certain plays.[5] The characters, they decided, would be fully voiced, and would have distinctive tells and dynamic responses that would manifest themselves as the game progressed.[4] Conners stated that the goal was to create the experience of "hanging out with their virtual buddies, shooting the breeze and playing a good game of poker".[5] Telltale considered a potential series based on this game using different characters, noting that the first game would need to see sales exceeding 100,000 to 200,000 units to make it feasible.[5]

Telltale Games have had previous experience working with several of the characters. Two of Telltale's episodic adventure series include three seasons of Sam & Max and Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People based on the Homestar Runner web series; both were developed in conjunction with the original creators, Steve Purcell[6] and The Brothers Chaps,[7] respectively. The appearance of Max and Strong Bad in Poker Night are based on the three-dimensional models from these games. The company's team were also fans of Valve's Team Fortress 2, including creating an informal team to participate in a competition between several game development studios; Telltale offered to create unique items based on Sam & Max to be given as a bonus gift for those who purchased Software:Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse through Steam, and formed a friendly working relationship with Valve as a result.[8]

Telltale aimed to make the game dialog-centric between the four featured characters. To that end, they created a large amount of dialog for each character and possible interactions between the characters; according to Jake Rodkin, Telltale's graphic designer, they wrote more lines of dialog for the game than a typical Sam & Max adventure episode.[1] Telltale always wanted to respect the original characters and worked with the individual creators and studios to improve the lines; they previously had gotten similar input from Matt Chapman for Strong Bad, while Jerry Holkins was extremely helpful to refine Tycho's character based on Telltale's draft dialog.[1][9] The developers also wanted to avoid any forced interactions, and instead developed what they felt were natural relationships: Tycho dislikes Strong Bad while getting along well with Max, while the Heavy looks upon Strong Bad as a tiny Heavy.[1] The characters are also written to be somewhat cognizant of their nature; according to Rodkin, Tycho and Strong Bad are aware of their video game nature, while Max is ambiguous and the Heavy remains blissfully unaware of his death-and-respawning cycle, simply attributing his memories of dying over and over again as dreams.[10]

Poker Night is the first game to include a voice artist for Tycho; provided by voice actor Andrew "Kid Beyond" Chaikin. The other three characters are voiced by their then-current voice actors: Max by William Kasten, Heavy by Gary Schwartz, and Strong Bad by Matt Chapman. The game uses existing 3D models for Max, Heavy, and Strong Bad, while Tycho's is built from scratch; at the time of the game's announcement near the Penny Arcade Expo, Telltale was still working on refining Tycho's model, though it was briefly seen during their Make a Scene panel at PAX.[10][11]

The game was teased by Telltale Games a week prior to its official announcement through a short video on GameTrailers TV, showing the silhouettes of the four characters' official art.[12] The game was officially announced by Telltale Games on September 2, 2010, the eve of the 2010 Penny Arcade Expo.[5] Players who have Team Fortress 2 in their Steam library are able to unlock unique items based on the four respective franchises within that game through progress in Poker Night; a special poker visor for Team Fortress 2 was also available for those that pre-ordered the game.[13]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic71/100[14]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Destructoid6/10[15]
GameProStarStarStarStar[16]
GameStar61%[17]
GamesTM7/10[18]
GamezeboStarStarStarStar[19]
IGN8/10[20]
Joystiq(Mac) StarStarHalf star[21]
PALGN6.5/10[23]
PC Gamer (US)70%[24]

The game received "mixed or average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[14] It was praised for its humorous interactions and the characters' unique strategies, but received criticism for its animation quality and various bugs.

Legacy

Main article: Software:Poker Night 2

On April 1, 2013, Telltale officially announced a sequel, titled Poker Night 2, featuring Brock Samson from The Venture Bros., Claptrap from the Borderlands series, Ash Williams from The Evil Dead franchise, and Sam from Sam & Max as opponents. GLaDOS from the Portal series serves as the dealer. Other characters such as Max from Sam & Max, the Aperture Science turrets from Portal, and Mad Moxxi and Steve the Bandit from Borderlands make non-playable appearances.[25] The game was released on Steam, Xbox Live Arcade, and PlayStation Network in late April 2013.[26] It was released on the IOS the following month. Both games were later delisted from sale following Telltale's closure.[27][28]

On February 4, 2026, a remaster of Poker Night at the Inventory was announced by Skunkape Games, a studio made up of ex-Telltale developers who had previously remastered the company's Sam & Max games. In addition to retaining the unlockable Team Fortress 2 items, the remaster features improved graphics and animation, gamepad support, new unlockable card and table artwork, better AI for the other players, and the ability to set the starting buy-in. The remaster was released on March 5, 2026 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Windows.[29]

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Remastered version developed and published by Skunkape Games.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Herring, Will (September 6, 2010). "PAX 2010: Poker Night at the Inventory". GamePro (GamePro Media). http://www.gamepro.com/article/previews/216419/pax-2010-poker-night-at-the-inventory/. Retrieved September 6, 2010. 
  2. ↑ Jason (May 15, 2009). "Telltale Texas Hold'em 2 imminent". https://mixnmojo.com/news/Telltale-Texas-Holdem-2-imminent. 
  3. ↑ McElroy, Griffin (May 7, 2013). "How Evil Dead, Venture Bros. and Borderlands ended up at the poker table". Vox Media. https://www.polygon.com/2013/5/7/4307928/poker-night-2-venture-bros-evil-dead-borderlands. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 IGN staff (September 3, 2010). "Telltale Announces the Citizen Kane of Poker Games". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/09/03/telltale-announces-the-citizen-kane-of-poker-games. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Mastrapa, Gus (September 3, 2010). "Gamer Icons Talk Trash in Poker Night at the Inventory". Wired (Condé Nast). https://www.wired.com/2010/09/poker-night-at-the-inventory/. Retrieved November 7, 2022. 
  6. ↑ Harold, Charles (October 19, 2006). "Dog and Rabbit Redux, and a Killer to Search Out". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/19/technology/19game.html. 
  7. ↑ IGN staff (April 14, 2008). "Interview With the Brothers Chaps". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/04/14/interview-with-the-brothers-chaps. 
  8. ↑ Nikki H. (April 15, 2010). "SnM + Steam = BFF". http://www.telltalegames.com/community/blogs/id-607. 
  9. ↑ "Poker Night at the Inventory". November 24, 2010. https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2010/11/24/poker-night-at-the-inventory1. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Rodkin, Jake (September 3, 2010). "Poker Night at the Inventory (some sort of crossover game?..)". http://www.telltalegames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=376093#post376093. 
  11. ↑ CyricZ (September 7, 2010). "Make a Scene With Telltale at PAX 2010". Google. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHFZ-Ecd_ek. 
  12. ↑ Thompson, Mike (August 28, 2010). "Telltale Trailer Hints At Greatest Adventure Crossover Ever". Gamurs. https://www.escapistmagazine.com/telltale-trailer-hints-at-greatest-adventure-crossover-ever/. 
  13. ↑ Alan (November 3, 2010). "Pre-Order Poker Night and Get a Poker Visor in Team Fortress 2". http://www.telltalegames.com/community/blogs/id-706. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Poker Night at the Inventory for PC Reviews". Fandom. https://www.metacritic.com/game/poker-night-at-the-inventory/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. 
  15. ↑ Szabelski, Brian (December 6, 2010). "Review: Poker Night at the Inventory". Gamurs. https://www.destructoid.com/reviews/review-poker-night-at-the-inventory/. 
  16. ↑ Noble, McKinley (November 30, 2010). "Poker Night at the Inventory". GamePro (GamePro Media). http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/217420/poker-night-at-the-inventory. Retrieved November 7, 2022. 
  17. ↑ Stockheim, Nico (December 2, 2010). "Poker Night at the Inventory im Test - P-P-P-Pokerface, P-P-Pokerface" (in de). Webedia. https://www.gamestar.de/artikel/poker_night_at_the_inventory,2319664.html. 
  18. ↑ "Review: Poker Night at the Inventory". GamesTM (Future plc) (104): 117. January 2011. 
  19. ↑ Zuccarelli, Dan (November 29, 2010). "Poker Night at the Inventory Review". https://www.gamezebo.com/reviews/poker-night-at-the-inventory-review/. 
  20. ↑ Gallegos, Anthony (November 22, 2010). "Poker Night at the Inventory Review". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/11/22/poker-night-at-the-inventory-review. 
  21. ↑ Nicholson, Brad (November 29, 2010). "Poker Night at the Inventory review: A bad beat (Mac) [author mislabeled as "James McElroy""]. Yahoo. https://www.engadget.com/2010-11-29-poker-night-at-the-inventory-review.html. 
  22. ↑ Noble, McKinley (December 1, 2010). "Poker Night at the Inventory for Mac". IDG Communications, Inc.. https://www.macworld.com/article/209266/pokernightreview.html. 
  23. ↑ Ellis, Kimberley (December 4, 2010). "Poker Night at the Inventory Review". PAL Gaming Network. http://palgn.com.au/pc-gaming/17765/poker-night-at-the-inventory-review/. 
  24. ↑ "Poker Night at the Inventory". PC Gamer (Future US) 18 (2): 78. February 2011. 
  25. ↑ Neltz, András (March 28, 2013). "Rumor: Leaked Poker Night At The Inventory 2 Screenshots Reveal The Game's Cast". G/O Media. https://kotaku.com/rumor-leaked-poker-night-at-the-inventory-2-screenshot-461347534. 
  26. ↑ Fahey, Mike (April 1, 2013). "Ash, Claptrap, Sam and Brock Samson Ante Up for Poker Night 2". G/O Media. https://kotaku.com/ash-claptrap-sam-and-brock-samson-ante-up-for-poker-n-464886624. 
  27. ↑ Makhdoom, Sultan Uz Zaman (April 6, 2023). "10 Delisted Games That Were Actually Worth Playing". https://www.thegamer.com/delisted-games-worth-playing/. 
  28. ↑ Mejia, Ozzie (February 4, 2026). "Poker Night at the Inventory returns from the dead in March". https://www.shacknews.com/article/147729/poker-night-at-the-inventory-march-2026-release-date. 
  29. ↑ Romano, Sal (February 4, 2026). "Poker Night at the Inventory remaster announced for PS4, Switch, and PC". https://www.gematsu.com/2026/02/poker-night-at-the-inventory-remaster-announced-for-ps4-switch-and-pc. 
  • Poker Night at the Inventory on IMDb
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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