# New Details on the Next Bally Williams Pinball Remake **Source:** Knapp Arcade **Type:** article **Published:** 2026-01-02 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/blog/new-details-on-the-next-bally-williams-pinball-remake --- ## Analysis Knapp Arcade reports that Pedretti Gaming will announce its next Bally Williams remake in Q1 2026, with evidence suggesting it may be Theatre of Magic (1995). The announcement follows Pedretti's partnership with Athryio Games for software development, building on previous remakes like Medieval Madness and Attack From Mars. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Pedretti Gaming has partnered with Athryio Games for software on upcoming Bally Williams remakes — _Article references previous reporting on 'big new deal between Pedretti Gaming and Athryio Games, the company that did the software for Chicago Gaming Company's Bally Williams remakes like Medieval Madness and Attack From Mars'_ - [HIGH] Pedretti Gaming will officially announce details of their next game in Q1 2026 — _Direct quote from Pedretti to author: 'According to Pedretti, they expect to officially announce the details of their next game in Q1 2026'_ - [HIGH] Pedretti's New Year's social media post was a clue about the upcoming game — _Article states 'their recent social media Happy New Year post was a clue about the upcoming game'_ - [HIGH] Theatre of Magic was built by Bally in 1995 with 6,600 units produced — _Author cites: 'Bally built 6,600 units of this game back in the day' and identifies it as 'Bally's 1995 game Theatre of Magic'_ - [HIGH] Theatre of Magic was designed by John Popadiuk — _Article states 'Created by the controversial pinball designer John Popadiuk'_ ### Notable Quotes > "According to Pedretti, they expect to officially announce the details of their next game in Q1 2026." > — **knapparcade (reporting Pedretti Gaming)**, n/a > _Official timeline for Pedretti's next announcement_ > "The Theeeeaaaatre Awaits!" > — **Theatre of Magic callout (quoted by knapparcade)**, n/a > _Iconic game audio from original Theatre of Magic, referenced as evidence of game's appeal_ > "The Magic Trunk. I can hear the game's amazing campy callouts in my head right now" > — **knapparcade**, n/a > _Author's personal enthusiasm for the game's signature mechanic_ > "Is the third time the charm? Is Pedretti Gaming coming out with a remake of Theatre or Magic in a few months?" > — **knapparcade**, n/a > _Author's hypothesis based on social media clue; references this being a third iteration/remake_ > "Ya, the fingernails suggests TOM. Fine by me. My number one remake would be TOTAN, with TOM a close second. I'll order one of either." > — **Don (commenter)**, about 1 month ago > _Community reaction confirming the clue interpretation and expressing ordering intent_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Pedretti Gaming | company | Pinball remake manufacturer partnered with Athryio Games; expected to announce next Bally Williams remake in Q1 2026 | | Athryio Games | company | Software development company providing code for Bally Williams remakes; worked on Medieval Madness and Attack From Mars remakes for Chicago Gaming Company | | Pedretti | company | Alternate reference to Pedretti Gaming | | Theatre of Magic | game | Classic Bally pinball machine from 1995 designed by John Popadiuk; features the Magic Trunk mechanic; rumored subject of upcoming Pedretti remake | | John Popadiuk | person | Pinball designer of Theatre of Magic, described as 'controversial' | | Chicago Gaming Company | company | Manufacturer of Bally Williams remakes including Medieval Madness and Attack From Mars, using Athryio Games software | | Medieval Madness | game | Bally Williams remake by Chicago Gaming Company with Athryio Games software | | Attack From Mars | game | Bally Williams remake by Chicago Gaming Company with Athryio Games software | | knapparcade | person | Author of article; pinball enthusiast and site administrator at Knapp Arcade | | Don | person | Community commenter; identified Theatre of Magic via fingernail clue; expressed intent to order remake | | Bally | company | Historical pinball manufacturer; produced Theatre of Magic in 1995 | ### Topics - **Primary:** Bally Williams remakes pipeline, Pedretti Gaming partnership with Athryio Games, Theatre of Magic remake speculation - **Secondary:** Classic pinball game design and mechanics, Community speculation and clue interpretation ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.75) — Author expresses genuine enthusiasm for Theatre of Magic and the potential remake. Tone is excited and optimistic about the announcement timing. Community comment is also positive with willingness to order. No negative sentiment detected. ### Signals - **[leak_detection]** Community successfully decoded social media clue pointing to Theatre of Magic as likely next remake (confidence: high) — Author deciphers fingernail imagery from New Year's post as reference to Magic Trunk; commenter confirms interpretation - **[announcement]** Pedretti Gaming signals Q1 2026 announcement of next Bally Williams remake via cryptic social media clue (confidence: high) — Official timeline provided directly by Pedretti; social media clue referenced as intentional hint - **[product_strategy]** Pedretti Gaming has clear pipeline of sequential Bally Williams remakes with staggered announcements (confidence: medium) — Reference to 'third time the charm' suggests multiple remakes in development; partnership with Athryio Games indicates sustained production capacity --- ## Transcript News New Details on the Next Bally Williams Pinball Remake k knapparcade January 2, 2026 HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! When we last spoke on New Year’s Eve I wrote about the big new deal between Pedretti Gaming and Athryio Games, the company that did the software for Chicago Gaming Company’s Bally Williams remakes like Medieval Madness and Attack From Mars (Link: Big News About Upcoming Bally Williams Pinball Remakes}. At the end of that article I promised to reach out to Pedretti to see if I could find out more information on its upcoming remake. I did and I heard back! According to Pedretti, they expect to officially announce the details of their next game in Q1 2026. Not only that, but they said that their recent social media Happy New Year post was a clue about the upcoming game. Hmmmmm. To this point, most of the speculation and rumors about the game guessed that it would be either Tales of the Arabian Nights or Big Bang Bar. Looking at our new clue, to me it seems to indicate that the remake may actually be based upon another one of my favorite 90’s pinball machines - Bally’s 1995 game Theatre of Magic. Bally built 6,600 units of this game back in the day. Created by the controversial pinball designer John Popadiuk, Theatre of Magic - or “TOM” for short, contains in my opinion one of the greatest pinball mechs of all time, The Magic Trunk. I can hear the game’s amazing campy callouts in my head right now “The Theeeeaaaatre Awaits!” I always play TOM when I come across one on location. Is the third time the charm? Is Pedretti Gaming coming out with a remake of Theatre or Magic in a few months? Time will tell, but it sure looks like it to me. What do you think about this new clue? Is that how you interpret it as well? Let me know. Posted about 2 months ago k About knapparcade Site administrator Comments (1) Please sign in to join the conversation. D Don about 1 month ago Ya, the fingernails suggests TOM. Fine by me. My number one remake would be TOTAN, with TOM a close second. I’ll order one of either. 1 Related Articles Stern Officially Reveals New Pokémon Pinball Machine 3 days ago Dutch Pinball is NOT Working with Stern to Release Back to the Future 3 days ago Pokémon Reveal Tomorrow?; Beetlejuice Pinball on Location 5 days ago Subscribe to Updates Get the latest pinball news, blog posts, and event announcements delivered to your inbox Subscribe StripeM-Inner _(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 49045ff3-2259-41c0-99de-235fee3997fd*