# American Pinball is Not Currently Working on Wrath of Olympus + Big Trouble in Little China VP

**Source:** Knapp Arcade  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2023-02-06  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/american-pinball-is-not-currently-working-on-wrath-of-olympus-big-trouble-in-little-china-vp

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## Analysis

American Pinball is not currently pursuing Wrath of Olympus, a small-run pinball machine originally by Riot! Pinball, despite registering a trademark in January 2021. The company allowed the trademark to expire in May 2022, following a pattern of similar abandoned trademark filings (Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood, Valkyries, Poker Run). A virtual pinball adaptation combining the Wrath of Olympus layout with Big Trouble in Little China artwork has been created by the community.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] American Pinball registered a trademark for Wrath of Olympus pinball in January 2021 — _Article states this as factual with specific date_
- [HIGH] American Pinball allowed the Wrath of Olympus trademark to expire in May 2022 — _Article provides specific expiration date and characterizes this as allowing it to lapse_
- [HIGH] American Pinball manufactured a significant number of Riot! Pinball's Legends of Valhalla games — _Article explicitly states this as context for why Wrath of Olympus rumors made sense_
- [MEDIUM] American Pinball has filed and allowed to expire trademarks for Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood, Valkyries, and Poker Run (which became Hot Wheels) — _Article lists these as examples of similar abandoned trademark filings_
- [MEDIUM] A community member created a Big Trouble in Little China virtual pinball table using the Wrath of Olympus layout — _Article references this creation and credits Steve New for the heads up, but doesn't provide extensive detail_

### Notable Quotes

> "There's been rumors on and off over the years that American Pinball (AP) was going to produce the well-known small run pinball machine by Riot! Pinball called Wrath of Olympus (WOOLY)."
> — **Knapp Arcade (author)**
> _Sets up the article's main claim about abandoned AP plans for the game_

> "American Pinball actually registered for a trademark for Wrath of Olympus pinball in January 2021."
> — **Knapp Arcade (author)**
> _Key evidence that AP showed serious initial interest in the property_

> "From that, one could logically conclude that we won't see Wrath of Olympus from AP anytime soon."
> — **Knapp Arcade (author)**
> _Author's interpretation of what the expired trademark means for future AP releases_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| American Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer that registered but abandoned Wrath of Olympus trademark; has pattern of filing and letting trademarks expire |
| Wrath of Olympus | game | Small-run pinball machine by Riot! Pinball with Greek mythology theme; layout adapted for virtual pinball |
| Riot! Pinball | company | Original manufacturer of Wrath of Olympus; worked with American Pinball on Legends of Valhalla |
| Legends of Valhalla | game | Riot! Pinball game manufactured by American Pinball in significant quantities |
| Big Trouble in Little China | game | Virtual pinball adaptation created by community using Wrath of Olympus layout and custom artwork |
| Steve New | person | Community member credited with providing tip about the Big Trouble in Little China VP project |
| Knapp Arcade | organization | Source/author of article analyzing American Pinball's abandoned Wrath of Olympus plans |
| Hot Wheels | game | Game that evolved from American Pinball's Poker Run trademark filing |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Trademark Strategy and Abandoned IP, American Pinball Business Decisions
- **Secondary:** Virtual Pinball Adaptations, Riot! Pinball and Manufacturing Partnerships, Community Homebrew Projects

### Sentiment

**Neutral** (0.45) — Author presents facts objectively but expresses personal disappointment about Wrath of Olympus not being mass-produced. Generally informational tone with mild frustration about AP's pattern of abandoning trademarks.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** American Pinball pattern of filing trademarks for game themes (Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood, Valkyries, Poker Run, Wrath of Olympus) but allowing them to expire without development, suggesting either exploratory IP prospecting or abandoned development cycles (confidence: high) — Article explicitly lists multiple trademark filings that were allowed to expire: Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood, Valkyries, Poker Run (became Hot Wheels), and Wrath of Olympus (expired May 2022)
- **[community_signal]** Virtual pinball community creating original adaptations by combining existing layouts (Wrath of Olympus) with different IP themes (Big Trouble in Little China) and custom artwork (confidence: high) — Community member created Big Trouble in Little China VP table using Wrath of Olympus layout with custom art
- **[rumor_hype]** Long-standing community rumors that American Pinball would manufacture Wrath of Olympus based on their prior relationship with Riot! Pinball and Legends of Valhalla production (confidence: medium) — Article opens with 'There's been rumors on and off over the years' and contextualizes why rumors made sense given AP-Riot! partnership history

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## Transcript

There's been rumors on and off over the years that American Pinball (AP) was going to produce the well-known small run pinball machine by Riot! Pinball called Wrath of Olympus (WOOLY). The rumors make a lot of sense, first and foremost American Pinball manufactured a significant number of Riot! Pinball's Legends of Valhalla game. Furthermore, American Pinball actually registered for a trademark for Wrath of Olympus pinball in January 2021.

Having said that, much like a number of other pinball themes that AP has filed trademarks for over the years, such as Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood, Valkyries and Poker Run (which later became Hot Wheels), the Company has allowed its trademark for Wrath of Olympus pinball to expire in May 2022. From that, one could logically conclude that we won't see Wrath of Olympus from AP anytime soon. In my opinion, that's too bad. While I have never personally played WOOLY, I've always thought that its layout looked pretty cool. Below are several pictures and a video of WOOLY so that you can judge for yourself. What do you think? Would you like to see this pin mass produced?

If you think that the WOOLY layout is cool, you can actually sort of play it in virtual pinball right now. Last year, someone created a Big Trouble in Little China virtual table using the WOOLY layout and some really cool art (thanks to Steve New on the heads up about this one). I've included some pics and video of that neat-looking virtual pin below as well.

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 8de8d6aa-9cd2-4785-898e-4b5491bb4d00*