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New Details on the Next Bally Williams Pinball Remake

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Jan 2, 2026
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.015

TL;DR

Pedretti Gaming hints at Theatre of Magic remake announcement in Q1 2026

Summary

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

  • Pedretti Gaming has partnered with Athryio Games for software on upcoming Bally Williams remakes

    high confidence · 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'

  • Pedretti Gaming will officially announce details of their next game in Q1 2026

    high confidence · Direct quote from Pedretti to author: 'According to Pedretti, they expect to officially announce the details of their next game in Q1 2026'

  • Pedretti's New Year's social media post was a clue about the upcoming game

    high confidence · Article states 'their recent social media Happy New Year post was a clue about the upcoming game'

  • Theatre of Magic was built by Bally in 1995 with 6,600 units produced

    high confidence · 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'

  • Theatre of Magic was designed by John Popadiuk

    high confidence · 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

Pedretti GamingcompanyAthryio GamescompanyPedretticompanyTheatre of MagicgameJohn PopadiukpersonChicago Gaming CompanycompanyMedieval MadnessgameAttack From Marsgame

Signals

  • ?

    leak_detection: Community successfully decoded social media clue pointing to Theatre of Magic as likely next remake

    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

    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

    medium · Reference to 'third time the charm' suggests multiple remakes in development; partnership with Athryio Games indicates sustained production capacity

Topics

Bally Williams remakes pipelineprimaryPedretti Gaming partnership with Athryio GamesprimaryTheatre of Magic remake speculationprimaryClassic pinball game design and mechanicssecondaryCommunity speculation and clue interpretationsecondary

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.

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

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
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