Antoine Depelchin - Hexa Pinball - Dutch Pinball Open Expo 2025 - Pinball News

Pinball News (Dutch Pinball Open Expo 2025)·video·7m 44s·analyzed·Nov 22, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.025

TL;DR

Hexa Pinball showcases Space Hunt success, announces The Three Musketeers for March Texas Pinball Festival reveal.

Summary

Antoine Depelchin from Hexa Pinball, a French manufacturer founded in 2022, discusses the company's debut game Space Hunt and upcoming second title The Three Musketeers. Hexa emphasizes quality fabrication, in-house video production, proprietary epoxy playfield technology replacing plastic inserts, and a connected mobile app (Plunger) for score tracking and tournament management. The company positions itself as France's first pinball manufacturer in 50+ years with a distinct identity separate from existing competitors.

Key Claims

Hexa Pinball was created in 2022 and is based in Bordeaux, France
high confidence · Direct statement by Antoine Depelchin at Dutch Pinball Open Expo 2025
18 months of R&D went into Space Hunt before launch
high confidence · Antoine Depelchin states 'It took us 18 months, just pure research and development to create our first game, Space Hunt'
Space Hunt sales began in France in early 2024
high confidence · Antoine explicitly states 'We started to sell the model in France beginning of 2024'
Hexa attended Pinball Expo in October (2024) for first US public introduction
high confidence · Antoine states 'last October we went to Pinball Expo for the first time'
No French pinball manufacturer has existed for 50+ years; last was Jotel in the 1980s
medium confidence · Antoine claims 'It is over 50 years that nobody manufactures any games in France. The last company was Jotel during the 80s'
The Three Musketeers theme was announced in Chicago in October 2024
high confidence · Antoine states 'We announced the theme of our second machine in Chicago last October'
The Three Musketeers is based on the book, not licensed from movies
high confidence · Antoine explicitly states 'It's not licensed. It's from the book. So we have total freedom to use. We don't have any assets from movies.'
The Three Musketeers full machine reveal will occur at Texas Pinball Festival in March (2025)
high confidence · Antoine states 'We will have a fully functional machine' revealed in Dallas at Texas Pinball Festival in March
Hexa uses Bally-Williams mechanisms for compatibility and serviceability
high confidence · Antoine states 'we use a Bally-William mechanism, so it's very easy to find if the need comes'

Notable Quotes

“It is over 50 years that nobody manufactures any games in France. The last company was Jotel during the 80s”
Antoine Depelchin @ early in presentation — Establishes Hexa's historical significance as France's first pinball manufacturer in decades, positioning the company as reviving a dormant national industry
“We don't want to make the exact same thing as the other manufacturers. We want to have our own identity. We have our own DNA.”
Antoine Depelchin @ mid-presentation — States Hexa's core positioning strategy: differentiation through distinctive design philosophy and manufacturing approach rather than imitation
“we use a Bally-William mechanism, so it's very easy to find if the need comes”
Antoine Depelchin @ technical discussion — Explains practical serviceability strategy: using standardized mechanisms to ensure long-term machine maintainability and operator confidence
“Franck Deniro who is a very well known guy in restoration in France is working on our playfields and he is applying six coats of varnish we have over three months drying time”
Antoine Depelchin @ production quality discussion — Demonstrates Hexa's commitment to manufacturing quality through multi-stage finishing process with industry-recognized craftspeople
“we are not using plastic inserts anymore, we are using a process with epoxy. So it gives us a lot of freedom”
Antoine Depelchin @ technology discussion — Highlights Hexa's proprietary manufacturing innovation as competitive differentiator enabling complex playfield shapes impossible with traditional plastic inserts
“It's all in-house. Yes.”
Antoine Depelchin @ video production discussion — Confirms Hexa's complete vertical integration of game design including proprietary video content creation
“You can also have a connected mode because the machines are connected to the Wi-Fi. So if you download our application Plunger, you can create also your virtual game room.”
Antoine Depelchin — Introduces Hexa's digital ecosystem innovation: connected machines with mobile app integration for score tracking, tournament management, and virtual social features

Entities

Antoine DepelchinpersonHexa Pinballcompany Space HuntgameThe Three MusketeersgamePinball ExpoeventDutch Pinball Open Expo 2025eventTexas Pinball Festivalevent Plungerproduct

Signals

?
business_signal: Hexa Pinball represents revival of French pinball manufacturing after 50+ year absence since Jotel in 1980s
high · Antoine states 'It is over 50 years that nobody manufactures any games in France. The last company was Jotel during the 80s' and describes forming team from scratch to build manufacturing competencies
~
sentiment_shift: Space Hunt received positive feedback at Pinball Expo 2024 from US community regarding game solidity and fabrication quality
high · Antoine states 'They said that the game was solid that the quality of fabrication was real, and they were quite impressed by the quality of our first machine'
?
licensing_signal: The Three Musketeers based on book not licensed from movies, giving Hexa total creative freedom and eliminating dependency on movie IP
high · When asked about licensing, Antoine confirms 'It's not licensed. It's from the book. So we have total freedom to use. We don't have any assets from movies. It's going to be an original creation, an interpretation of the book.'
?
announcement: Hexa officially confirms The Three Musketeers as second pinball machine with Texas Pinball Festival March 2025 reveal date
high · Antoine explicitly states theme announced Chicago October 2024 and full functional machine will be revealed at Texas Pinball Festival in March with 'little nuggets' teased on social media before then
?
product_strategy: Hexa explicitly positions itself with distinct identity and DNA separate from existing competitors through manufacturing approach and game design philosophy

Topics

Manufacturing InnovationprimaryNew Game AnnouncementsprimaryBoutique Manufacturer StrategyprimaryPlayfield Technology & Epoxy ProcessprimaryConnected Digital EcosystemsecondaryTheme Licensing & IP StrategysecondaryQuality Control & FabricationsecondaryInternational Market Expansionmentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.82)— Antoine presents Hexa with genuine enthusiasm and pride. Reception of Space Hunt was positive; company positioned as innovation-focused and quality-conscious. No critical commentary or defensive posturing observed. Friendly, professional tone throughout.

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.023

All right. Hello, everybody. My name is Anthony. I'm working for Hexa Pinball. I don't know if you're familiar with the brand. Some of you, maybe? No? Nobody? All right. So I have to start from scratch. The company was created in 2022. We are based out of Bordeaux in France. It's a story of passion. Again, I want to say a group of friends that are in the pinball community for a long long time decided to transform their hobby into a business. It took us 18 months, just pure research and development to create our first game, Space Hunt, that is at the show. I'm sure you saw it because of the purplish color that you can see from far. So Space Hunt is our first model. We started to sell the model in France beginning of 2024. And last October we went to Pinball Expo for the first time and we had a great time and we introduced our first machine to the US public. We received a very good feedback. They said that the game was solid, that the quality of fabrication was real, and they were quite impressed by the quality of our first machine. It is over 50 years that nobody manufactures any games in France. The last company was Jotel during the 80s, so we had to find all the skills, all the competencies and assemble a team to make this pinball machine. So it's the start of the adventure for us. We are a new company. We are proud of what we do. We don't want to make the exact same thing as the other manufacturers. We want to have our own identity. We have our own DNA. We announced the theme of our second machine in Chicago last October. So the theme will be The Three Musketeers. We think it's a good theme to develop interesting gameplay. So we want to make it fun. And we still want to keep the same quality of fabrication because we want our pinball machines to be present in arcades like another brand that you know well. So we are following our tracks. We announced the date of the reveal of the machine and it will be in Dallas at the Texas Pinball Festival in March. We will have a fully functional machine and from now to March we will also reveal some little nuggets, as we call them, on social networks. So that's the plan and I would be very happy to answer any questions that you might have, if you have some. What aspect is licensed? No, it's not licensed. It's from the book. So we have total freedom to use. We don't have any assets from movies. It's, again, it's going to be an original creation, an interpretation of the book. So you're making all your own videos? Absolutely. It's all in-house. Yes. Yes. What I can add also is that we use a Bally Williams mechanism, so it's very easy to find if the need comes. We also developed a patent on the playfield. We are not using plastic inserts anymore, we are using a process with epoxy. So it gives us a lot of freedom and it will be the case on The Three Musketeers to have very very special shapes that will be drawn on the playfield. We have total freedom because we don't use plastic inserts anymore, so we can imagine anything. And for the playfields also it's a long process because the quality of fabrication again is very important to us. Franck Deniro who is a very well known guy in restoration in France is working on our playfields and he is applying six coats of varnish. We have over three months drying time and it makes the final result what we want it to be. Voilà messieurs. Thank you very much. I hope you enjoy the expo and your weekend here and hope to see you at our booth. You can also have a connected mode because the machines are connected to the Wi-Fi. So if you download our application Plunger, you can create also your virtual game room. You can track your score, your achievements, organize tournaments and follow your score on a leaderboard. That's part of the innovation we want to bring also. Thank you very much guys and I wish you a very nice afternoon.