# Texas Pinball Festival 2025: What We Saw, What We Loved

**Source:** Dirtypool Pinball  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2025-03-25  
**Duration:** 1m 25s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA3bP8Tx0wo

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## Analysis

Jeff from Dirty Pool Pinball reports on Texas Pinball Festival 2025, covering Spooky's Evil Dead sellout, Christopher Franchi's hire as full-time artist at Spooky, Pinball Brothers' acquisition of the Predator license, Barrels of Fun's near-sellout status with cryptic messaging about a potential future game, and Turner Pinball's announcement of Merlin's Arcade as an original IP title.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Spooky sold out of Evil Dead — _Direct observation from festival; reported as confirmed news_
- [HIGH] Spooky hired Christopher Franchi as a full-time artist — _Jeff explicitly states Franchi was hired as full-time artist; indicates confirmed personnel move_
- [HIGH] Pinball Brothers acquired the license to Predator — _Reported as definitive news from festival; stated with enthusiasm_
- [HIGH] Barrels of Fun has 113 units left of their current game — _Barrels of Fun sent out a PDF with this specific inventory number_
- [MEDIUM] Barrels of Fun's PDF contains cryptic messaging about '13th Hour' potentially referencing an upcoming game — _Jeff notes it could reference Dune, the Labyrinth clock, or may not be a rumor; unclear intent_
- [HIGH] Turner Pinball announced Merlin's Arcade — _Stated as formal announcement; game described as original IP_
- [MEDIUM] Merlin's Arcade may derive from Deep Root assets acquired by Turner and other manufacturers — _Jeff speculates on connection to Deep Root assets; phrased as potential connection_

### Notable Quotes

> "Spooky they sold out of Evil Dead which is awesome it's a fun game if you haven't played it you should and congratulations to Spooky and the team for making an absolute banger"
> — **Jeff (Dirty Pool Pinball)**, opening remarks
> _Confirms Evil Dead sold out at TPF 2025 and establishes positive sentiment toward the game and Spooky's execution_

> "they hired Franchi as a full-time artist which means that there's plenty of games in the mix and stuff coming out"
> — **Jeff (Dirty Pool Pinball)**, early segment
> _Signals major personnel move and indicates optimism about Spooky's future pipeline based on this hire_

> "Pinball Brothers has acquired the license to Predator you son of a they're going down my childhood that's cool"
> — **Jeff (Dirty Pool Pinball)**, mid-segment
> _Confirms Pinball Brothers' Predator license acquisition; reflects personal enthusiasm about the IP choice_

> "Barrels of Fun sent out a PDF talking about how their game is almost sold out with only 113 units left there's a cryptic message in there talking about the 13th Hour"
> — **Jeff (Dirty Pool Pinball)**, mid-segment
> _Documents inventory status and hints at potential upcoming title from Barrels of Fun_

> "Turner Pinball has announced their next game Merlin's Arcade which looks like another interesting original IP"
> — **Jeff (Dirty Pool Pinball)**, late segment
> _Official announcement of Turner Pinball's next title; establishes Merlin's Arcade as original IP strategy_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Spooky Pinball | company | Manufacturer; sold out of Evil Dead at TPF 2025; hired Christopher Franchi as full-time artist |
| Evil Dead | game | Spooky Pinball title; sold out at Texas Pinball Festival 2025; described as 'fun' and a 'banger' |
| Christopher Franchi | person | Artist/designer; newly hired as full-time artist at Spooky Pinball (confirmed personnel move) |
| Pinball Brothers | company | Manufacturer; acquired Predator license for upcoming pinball game |
| Predator | game | Pinball Brothers' licensed game in development; IP acquired from action film franchise |
| Barrels of Fun | company | Manufacturer; currently has 113 units remaining of current game; sent PDF with cryptic '13th Hour' messaging |
| Turner Pinball | company | Manufacturer; announced Merlin's Arcade as next game title |
| Merlin's Arcade | game | Turner Pinball original IP title; announced at TPF 2025; possibly derived from Deep Root assets |
| Deep Root | company | Assets acquired by Turner Pinball and other manufacturers; potentially connected to Merlin's Arcade development |
| Texas Pinball Festival 2025 | event | Two-day convention event; location where multiple game announcements and sellouts occurred |
| Dune | game | Barrels of Fun game; potentially referenced in cryptic '13th Hour' message |
| Labyrinth | game | Barrels of Fun game; potentially referenced in cryptic '13th Hour' message (clock reference) |
| Jeff | person | Host/content creator at Dirty Pool Pinball; reporting on TPF 2025 |
| Dirty Pool Pinball | company | Content creation/streaming channel (Twitch); produces pinball-related content and promotional material |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Manufacturer announcements and news, Game releases and sellouts, Personnel moves and hiring, IP licensing acquisitions
- **Secondary:** Convention events and community gathering, Original IP strategy
- **Mentioned:** Content creation and streaming

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Jeff expresses enthusiasm and optimism about the announcements and industry developments. Evil Dead's sellout is celebrated, Franchi's hire is framed positively for Spooky's future, and Turner's original IP strategy is praised. The tone is upbeat throughout.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Turner Pinball acquiring Deep Root assets for game development (confidence: medium) — Jeff speculates that Merlin's Arcade may derive from Deep Root assets; notes Turner and other manufacturers acquired these assets
- **[design_philosophy]** Turner Pinball pursuing original IP strategy rather than licensed titles (confidence: high) — Jeff notes Merlin's Arcade is 'original IP' and praises Turner for 'doing original IPs'; indicates strategic direction
- **[licensing_signal]** Pinball Brothers acquired Predator IP license for future pinball machine (confidence: high) — Jeff reports 'Pinball Brothers has acquired the license to Predator' as confirmed news from festival
- **[market_signal]** Barrels of Fun's current game nearly sold out with only 113 units remaining (confidence: high) — Barrels of Fun distributed PDF indicating 113 units remaining; suggests strong market uptake
- **[market_signal]** Evil Dead sold out at Texas Pinball Festival 2025 (confidence: high) — Spooky sold out of Evil Dead at TPF; indicates strong demand and successful release
- **[personnel_signal]** Christopher Franchi hired as full-time artist at Spooky Pinball (confidence: high) — Jeff explicitly states 'they hired Franchi as a full-time artist' and connects this to expanded production pipeline
- **[announcement]** Turner Pinball formally announced Merlin's Arcade as their next game title (confidence: high) — Jeff states 'Turner Pinball has announced their next game Merlin's Arcade' as a direct announcement from the festival
- **[rumor_hype]** Cryptic '13th Hour' message in Barrels of Fun PDF may reference upcoming game (possibly Dune sequel or new IP) (confidence: low) — Jeff notes the message is 'cryptic' and could reference Dune, Labyrinth clock, or may not be meaningful; explicitly frames as uncertain

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## Transcript

what's going on everybody it's Jeff from Dirty poool pinball and it was Texas pinball Festival two days of amazing convention pinball Madness there's news let's talk about it first things up spooky they sold out of Evil Dead which is awesome it's a fun game if you haven't played it you should and congratulations to Spooky and the team for making an absolute Banger the future is bright for spooky they hired franie as a full-time artist which means that there's plenty of games in the mix and stuff coming out and I'm sure when we hear about it I'll tell you in other news pinball Brothers has acquired the licensed a predator you son of a they're going down my childhood that's cool barels a fun sent out a PDF talking about how their game is almost sold out with only 113 units left there's a cryptic message in there talking about the 13th Hour which could potentially be a reference to Dune but also could be a reference to the clock in Labyrinth and may not be a rumor at all Turner pinball has announced their next game Merlin's arcade which looks like another interesting original Ip potentially from the deep root assets that were acquired by Turner pinball and other manufacturers the game looks like a combination of its similar art style and wacky layout should be fun though whatever it's great that Turner is doing original IPS anyways check us out over at dirty poool pinball on Twitch hanging out doing stuff and putting together a bunch of promos uh like cool action shots of of pinball machines that's your thing it's over here or over here

_(Acquisition: youtube_auto_sub, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 84b29a8c-0fd6-4a5d-8179-1f02409e0ccc*