3 Musketeers Pinball Gameplay; Info on the Rumored Mountain Dew Pinball Machine; Deeproot Trial Update & More

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Apr 9, 2026

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.023

TL;DR

Musketeers gameplay, Mountain Dew Stern machine rumored, Mueller trial update, Scorbit expansion.

Summary

Jason Knapp covers multiple pinball industry developments including HEXA Pinball's The 3 Musketeers gameplay debut, rumors of a Stern/Mountain Dew branded pinball machine based on the Home Edition platform, a Transformers cartoon game rumored for Stern's next Cornerstone title, Wonderland Amusements' potential TMNT hockey game, Robert Mueller's rejection of a plea deal in his Deeproot fraud case, and Scorbit's expansion of real-money tournament capabilities.

Key Claims

Stern is making a pinball machine for Mountain Dew brand, likely based on Home Edition platform, in a small production run.
medium confidence · Jason Knapp citing sources he spoke with, but notes these are rumors; speculates it may be a promotional contest prize
Stern's next Cornerstone game is strongly rumored to be based on a cartoon version of Transformers, with June production and potential late May reveal.
medium confidence · Jason Knapp reporting strong rumors about Stern's next Cornerstone title
Robert Mueller rejected a plea deal offering 10 to 12.5 years prison, heading to trial where conviction could mean 27 to almost 34 years.
high confidence · San Antonio Express-News article cited by Jason Knapp
Mueller was charged with five counts of wire fraud and allegedly spent over $1.5 million of investor money on personal expenses including weddings, rings, cruises, and a Hawaiian condo.
high confidence · SEC allegations cited by Jason Knapp
Wonderland Amusements appears to be working on a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hockey game, revealed via leaked photo.
low confidence · Jason Knapp referencing an anonymous leaked picture with no additional details confirmed
The 3 Musketeers is scheduled to make its first U.S. appearance at PinBrew Festival April 10-12 at The Church Arcade in Duquesne, PA.
high confidence · Jason Knapp citing official festival information
Scorbit has launched real-money pinball tournaments and is available at fifteen locations with plans to expand to over thirty locations by end of month.
high confidence · Jason Knapp citing Scorbit expansion announcement

Notable Quotes

“Mountain Dew pinball will supposedly be a very small production run made specifically for the brand. I'm speculating here that it will probably be some sort of prize for a contest that it will hold, much like a promotion that Canada Dry ginger ale did with Gottlieb in France back in the 1970s.”
Jason Knapp @ N/A — Knapp contextualizes the rumored Mountain Dew machine with historical precedent and speculates on its distribution model
“Mueller recently rejected a plea deal in his federal fraud case. He was charged with five counts of wire fraud. The plea would have had him plead guilty to one count and face 10 to 12.5 years in prison. By rejecting it, he's heading to trial later this year, where a conviction could mean 27 to almost 34 years.”
Jason Knapp @ N/A — Major update on Deeproot fraud case with significant legal consequences outlined
“in addition to starting a pinball company without telling any of his initial investors that was what their money would be used for, the SEC also alleges Mueller spent over $1.5 million of investor money on personal expenses including two weddings, engagement rings, vacation cruises, and a Hawaiian condo.”
Jason Knapp @ N/A — Details of Mueller's alleged fraud and misuse of investor capital

Entities

HEXA PinballcompanyThe 3 MusketeersgameSpooky PinballcompanyStern PinballcompanyMountain DewcompanyTurnercompanyCardona PinballcompanyPintastic New EnglandeventPinBrew FestivaleventTexas Pinball Festivalevent

Signals

?
machine_intel: Mountain Dew branded pinball machine rumor confirmed by sources speaking with Jason Knapp; based on Stern's Home Edition platform in small production run, likely promotional.
medium · Knapp spoke with people who confirmed the game is happening and based on Home Edition platform; explicitly notes this is rumor but he believes it based on sources
?
machine_intel: Stern's next Cornerstone game strongly rumored to be cartoon Transformers with June production and late May reveal.
medium · Knapp cites 'strongly rumored' status from unspecified sources about Transformers cartoon-based game
?
product_launch: HEXA Pinball's The 3 Musketeers officially revealed at Texas Pinball Festival and making U.S. debut at PinBrew Festival April 10-12.
high · Knapp cites official festival information and gameplay stream from flipmaniafrance Twitch channel
?
licensing_signal: Mountain Dew rumored to commission Stern pinball as promotional item or contest prize, paralleling historical Canada Dry/Gottlieb promotion from 1970s.
medium · Knapp speculates based on sources and historical precedent of brand-sponsored pins
?
regulatory_signal: Robert Mueller rejected plea deal in federal fraud case; trial scheduled for later in 2026 with potential 27-34 year sentence versus 10-12.5 years from plea.
high · San Antonio Express-News article cited by Knapp; official legal charges and plea details

Topics

New Game Announcements and RevealsprimaryStern Pinball Product Pipeline and RumorsprimaryDeep Root Pinball Fraud Case and Legal ProceedingsprimaryInternational Pinball Manufacturers (HEXA Pinball)secondaryPinball Convention Events and Festival CoveragesecondaryBrand Licensing and Promotional PartnershipssecondaryDigital Pinball Platforms and Real-Money TournamentssecondaryAdjacent Arcade Gaming (Hockey, Arcade Expansion)mentioned

Sentiment

neutral(0)

Transcript

web_scrape · $0.000

News 3 Musketeers Pinball Gameplay; Info on the Rumored Mountain Dew Pinball Machine; Deeproot Trial Update & More k knapparcade April 9, 2026 Thursday = Friday. One more day until I'm off to this weekend's Pintastic New England pinball convention. I will be there Friday morning through late Saturday. I'm looking forward to getting to play Spooky Pinball's Beetlejuice, Turner's Yukon Yeti, more of Stern's Pokémon and the new Cardona Pinball 2.0 Kit. Pintastic New England Website First up today, I have the first gameplay video of the French manufacturer HEXA Pinball's new The 3 Musketeers pinball machine. The game was officially revealed during the recent Texas Pinball Festival and is scheduled to make its first appearance in the United States at the upcoming PinBrew Festival from April 10th through the 12th at The Church Arcade in Duquesne, PA. PinBrew Website The 3 Musketeers recently made its streaming debut on the "flipmaniafrance" Twitch channel. I don't think that I can embed Twitch videos here, so here is a link to the broadcast: The 3 Musketeers Gameplay Stream My one year of high school French isn't enough for me to absorb any new information on the game from the stream, but it was very interesting to see how it plays. Next up is a quick update on Stern Pinball. Kaneda's Pinball Podcast recently shared a rumor that Stern is going to make a pinball machine for the soda brand Mountain Dew. I looked into it and the people who I spoke with said that the game is indeed happening and it will likely be based on the Home Edition pinball platform that Stern has been selling at Costco locations. I don't know if it will be an existing Home Edition design or something new, like a potential layout from a rumored future Pokémon Home Edition game. Again, this is just more rumors on the subject at this point, but I believe it. Mountain Dew pinball will supposedly be a very small production run made specifically for the brand. I'm speculating here that it will probably be some sort of prize for a contest that it will hold, much like a promotion that Canada Dry ginger ale did with Gottlieb in France back in the 1970s. You still see those Canada Dry pins out there from time to time, like at the Silverball Arcade in Asbury Park, NJ. Stern Pinball's next Cornerstone game is strongly rumored to be based on a cartoon version of the Transformers, with June production and a potential late May reveal. !Advertisement Did you know that Mountain Dew actually created a skatepark themed with its brand for a promotion in New Zealand back in 2011? Below is video and some pictures of it. Mountain Dew Skate Pinball TVC - YouTube Tap to unmute Mountain Dew Skate Pinball TVC satinandlacevideo satinandlacevideo A little over a week ago, I wrote about an interview that Wonderland Amusements' Peter Gould did with the YouTube channel Kongs-R-Us. In it, he hinted that Wonderland is working on other types of arcade games beyond home pinball machines. Someone recently sent me a "leaked" picture of what one of those mystery games might be...table hockey. As you can see below, Wonderland appears to be working on a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hockey game. I don't have any more details about it beyond the picture at this point. I haven't written about the debacle that was Deeproot Pinball here in quite some time, but I came across an article from the San Antonio Express-News about the trial of the company's disgraced founder Robert Mueller earlier this week. New sponsor slot Your sponsored ad here Be the first to claim this placement. Contact knapparcade@gmail.com today Mueller recently rejected a plea deal in his federal fraud case. He was charged with five counts of wire fraud. The plea would have had him plead guilty to one count and face 10 to 12.5 years in prison. By rejecting it, he's heading to trial later this year, where a conviction could mean 27 to almost 34 years. As a refresher, in addition to starting a pinball company without telling any of his initial investors that was what their money would be used for, the SEC also alleges Mueller spent over $1.5 million of investor money on personal expenses including two weddings, engagement rings, vacation cruises, and a Hawaiian condo. For those of you who aren't familiar with what happened with Deeproot, here's a great summary of the situation from CaptNRetro's Lost Pins series of videos: The Pinball Company That Raised Millions — and Never Shipped a Game - YouTube Tap to unmute CaptNRetro CaptNRetro Speaking of the great Lost Pins series, another new video just released about the Heighway Pinball mess: Heighway Pinball Wasn't Supposed to Fail \| The Lost Pins - YouTube Tap to unmute CaptNRetro CaptNRetro Last up, I have an article about how the connected pinball platform Scorbit has launched the ability for players to partake in real-money pinball tournaments directly through its app. Scorbit-enabled pins are now available at fifteen locations from California to New York with plans to expand to over thirty locations by the end of this month. Scorbit launches real-money arcade tournaments at bars and arcades Posted 26 minutes ago k About knapparcade Site administrator Comments (0) Please sign in to join the conversation. No comments yet Be the first to share your thoughts on this post! Related Articles 3 Musketeers Pinball Gameplay; Info on the Rumored Mountain Dew Pinball Machine; Deeproot Trial Update & More 26 minutes ago Update on American Pinball; Yukon Yeti at Pintastic New England; Tons of Stern Games at or Approaching 1.0 about 22 hours ago New Pinball to be Revealed at Pintastic New England; That Blueprint is NOT Pinball Brothers' Next Game; Info on Multimorphic's Next Game 8 days ago Subscribe to Updates Get the latest pinball news, blog posts, and event announcements delivered to your inbox Subscribe !Advertisement New sponsor slot Your sponsored ad here Be the first to claim this placement.