Indie game AlphaJax being upgraded to Xbox LIVE status on Windows Phone

By Daniel Rubino
last updated

Achievement unlocked: Xbox LIVE upgrade enabled

Back in January 2011, we posted a rumor noting that the Scrabble-like game AlphaJax, one of our favorite indie games for Windows Phone, may be heading to Xbox LIVE.

Flash forward a mind-numbing 19 months later and we’re happy to report that indeed, AlphaJax will be coming to Xbox LIVE for Windows Phone in the near future.

Screen images from the upcoming Xbox LIVE edition

AlphaJax came onto Windows Phone launched with Windows Phone 7 back in October 2010 though we didn’t report on it until a few months later in January 2011. Since our coverage though, we routinely touted the game as one of our favorites due to the online multiplayer ability in addition to the excellent graphics and attentive development team behind the game. That team is based out of New Zealand and they have won numerous awards along the way for their efforts.

We're not sure what took so long but along with Wordament and Chickens Can’t Fly, they’re one of a very select few that have managed to get passed Microsoft’s infamously strict standards for Xbox LIVE status.

From the developer’s Web site:

“Marker Metro are pleased to announce that AlphaJax for Windows Phone will soon be available on the Xbox LIVE platform. AlphaJax is the first Xbox LIVE title to be developed by a Kiwi company for Windows Phone, and Marker Metro is proud to be one of the few companies able to meet Microsoft’s stringent quality requirements.”“With its upcoming launch on the Xbox LIVE platform, AlphaJax users can enjoy all the great Xbox LIVE features such as achievements, leaderboards and in game avatars for the user and all opponents.”

No word on the exact release date but we’ll obviously bring more as soon as we can. Needless to say, we’re excited to see this game come to Xbox LIVE on Windows Phone and are thrilled for the development team behind the game.

You can pick up the current non-Xbox LIVE AlphaJax Free here in the Marketplace or get the non-ad version for $2.99 here.

Source: Marker Metro; Thanks, Xtramalt, for the tip!

Daniel Rubino
Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central, head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007 when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and for some reason, watches. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.

39 Comments
  • Do users really like this one over Words By Post?? May have to give it another try.
  • Hell Yeah!
  • yes, as mentioned below it's the little things that make it great. scrabble games are all pretty similar, but this one has a nice polish to it that, in my opinion, puts it above the rest. even words with friends looks like a jumbled mess in comparison.
  • What about Wordfeud?  Do people like that?  I have Wordfeud for the sole reason that it also has a Windows 8 app.  That way I can continue my games on my phone and desktop, which is awesome!  I guess I'll get try this one out once it gets a W8 app too.
  • Wordfeud is insanely popular in Sweden (or at least used to be), 700,000+ downloads (7M+ world-wide) in a country of 9M people.
  • I play a lot of Wordfeud. I think the amount of dictionaries has made up for its lack of leaderboards and matchmaking.
  • I play word feud all the time, great game. I would love to see ms be a little easier for games to get the live stamp.
  • If it has Xbox Live support then I do.
  • No, but it was out first so people tend to still like it. Words by Post is a superior game though.
  • I regularly used both, but Words By Post is far superior, so it has taken over my Scrabble-game time.
  • I think overall it's better than Words by Post. Little things like sound make this stand out. It's just not crossplatform like Words by Post.
  • Is it easy to always find an opponent, since it's not cross platform? Kind of like playing any of my friends, regardless of platform. Will try it, to at least give it a spin
  • A kiwi game without any sheep?? :P :P
  • I always thought Words by Post was the go to game.
  • can't wait to get this game!! i felt that words by post was nice for cross platform play, but alpha jax was the best of all word games!
  • Ive been playing Spell It this whole time
     
  • Lets hope it also makes it to Xbox Live on Windows 8 (and maybe even Xbox as well) that would make it awesome indeed. But this is a great start for sure
     
  • It seems the first QR code has an error in the link (it starts off as "hhttp", instead of "http").
  • Just replaced. Should be fine now.
  • Well done game. Do we know what kind of server they use to serve this kind of app? Most probably they are using azure now, but did they plan / anticipated that scale from the start?
  • Word Feud is cross platform giving you the ability to play many more of your friends.
  • Quantum. Oh yeah... (nods approvingly)
  • +1  Nice to see a Quantum grab a little spotlight every now and then.
  • I'm still a Words by Post player until Words with Friends comes for cross platform play
  • Wonder if it has anything to do with Words with Friends coming soon to Windows Phone.
  • Yay! As upgraded will it be still available to non Xbox-market users ? What a great move! Achievement, Microsoft's network, etc. If not, I sincerely hope Nokia brings a lot of Symbian apps and make its own markets (free and paid) so they can satisfy their customers better.
     
    For Nokia director in charge, please bring N-gage games 2.0 to Nokia Collections, especially Reset Generation and System Rush.
  • Well deserved. Truly great game and I tried them all. As for cross platform, my go to app is Wordfeud as it's more polished and has a larger database, being more popular than Words by Post.
  • Wonder what the price will be...
  • I bought the full version when it first came out and still play it to this day. It's very polished and doesn't feel as "kiddie" as other scrabble type games
  • Get ready.... If the devs of AlphaJax act like the rats that developed Doodle God, they will pull the non Xbox Live version and refuse to refund you and tell you to just rebuy it under the Live label.
  • It has mass appeal, and will have to compete with Words With Friends when that comes to WP, so I think there's a large chance they will follow Wordament's example and make the Live version ad-supported.
  • Indeed, note the ad banner on the first pic. This will probably be free like Wordament.
  • Hmm Words By Post is my go to word game. It actually tells me my score before I make a move. Does this one do that? I'll try if so.
  • Just tried the free version and I'm hooked!  Any chance we could get word on whether or not the developers will upgrade full versions to xBox Live version once released? Sounds cheap, but there's no point buying the full version now if it needs replacing later on?!
  • This is the reason I refuse to buy Indie Games anymore, seems like every time I buy one I get screwed over when it later gets promoted to Live status.
  • No offense, but that is complete nonsense. Name me some other games that have received Xbox LIVE status that you have purchased?
  • Very cool, one of the first games I ever played on Windows Phone!
  • Nice Quantum!
  • The new Xbox LIVE AlphaJax will be a free ad supported title.