A Big Pinball Announcement Coming Soon from Pinball Brothers, but It's Not Bally Twilight Zone

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·May 25, 2023

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.018

TL;DR

Pinball Brothers denies Twilight Zone remake; third licensed game incoming instead

Summary

Knapp Arcade reports that despite widespread rumors and trademark filings suggesting Pinball Brothers would produce a Twilight Zone remake, the manufacturer has denied this in a recent social media post. Instead, Pinball Brothers confirmed a third licensed game (not Twilight Zone) coming later this year, which would be their first game designed from scratch rather than based on Heighway Pinball designs. The article reviews evidence for and against a Twilight Zone remake by various manufacturers.

Key Claims

CBS Broadcasting filed a specific trademark for Twilight Zone pinball in February
high confidence · Knapp Arcade cites their own prior reporting on trademark filing
A large order was placed for Twilight Zone pinball ramps
medium confidence · Knapp Arcade's January rumor report; unverified supply chain gossip
Planetary Pinball (the Bally/Williams licenseholder) may be frustrated with Chicago Gaming Company's slow production rate
low confidence · Knapp Arcade states 'I personally do not have any firsthand knowledge that is the case, but lots of people believe that'
Pinball Brothers is currently building both Aliens and Queens machines
high confidence · Direct quote from Pinball Brothers social media post
A third licensed pinball machine from Pinball Brothers is coming later this year, smaller IP than Alien/Queen
medium confidence · Knapp Arcade's conversation with Pinball Brothers representatives at an event late last year
The third Pinball Brothers game will be their first designed from scratch, not a revamped Heighway design
medium confidence · Knapp Arcade's conversation with Pinball Brothers representatives

Notable Quotes

“Hi Pinheads, just giving you a glimpse of our new factory floor where we are currently building both Aliens and Queens. Oh yes, and some more exciting news from us very soon”
Pinball Brothers (social media) @ recent/morning of article — Official denial of Twilight Zone remake; teases unannounced third game
“what is TZ?”
Pedretti (Pinball Brothers/Pedretti Gaming) @ social media comment — Response to fan speculation about Twilight Zone; dismissive tone suggests lack of knowledge or deliberate misdirection
“The build quality and improvements that CGC puts into the remake machines are incredible, but they are slooooow at building games.”
Knapp Arcade (author) @ article — Commentary on Chicago Gaming Company's production speed; context for why licenseholder might seek alternatives

Entities

Pinball Brotherscompany Twilight Zonegame Planetary Pinballcompany Chicago Gaming Companycompany Pedretti GamingcompanyEuro Pinball CorpcompanyHaggis PinballcompanyCBS Broadcastingcompany

Signals

?
business_signal: Rumors suggest Planetary Pinball frustrated with Chicago Gaming Company's slow production rate, potentially seeking alternative manufacturers
low · Author explicitly states no firsthand knowledge but acknowledges widespread belief in community
~
sentiment_shift: Strong expectation within pinball community that Twilight Zone remake is imminent from some manufacturer
high · Multiple rumors, trademark filing, supply chain gossip all pointing toward remake expectation
?
leak_detection: Pinball Brothers social media post references 'exciting news' which sparked speculation about Twilight Zone; post appears to be partial denial via redirection
medium · Author notes social media comments section exchange where Pedretti seems to deflect TZ question
?
licensing_signal: Third Pinball Brothers game is licensed IP but 'not as Big' as Alien/Queen, suggesting smaller franchise or character IP
medium · Author's reported conversation with Pinball Brothers team; no specific IP identified
$
market_signal: Multiple manufacturers (Chicago Gaming, Haggis, Pedretti/Pinball Brothers potential) competing for Bally/Williams remake rights; licensing holder evaluating partners
medium · Author discusses pattern of CGC's dominance in remakes and rumors of Planetary exploring alternatives
?

Topics

Twilight Zone remake speculationprimaryPinball Brothers production and pipelineprimaryBally/Williams remake licensing and manufacturingsecondaryPlanetary Pinball's licenseholder frustrationssecondaryChicago Gaming Company production speedsecondary

Sentiment

neutral(0.5)— Article is investigative and balanced; author carefully distinguishes between verified facts, rumors, and speculation. Tone is professional and evidence-based rather than sensational.

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

I've talked about how, as improbable as it seems, most likely some manufacturer is going to build a remake of the iconic 1993 Bally Pinball Machine Twilight Zone a number of times over the past several months...from the rumor about the large order placed for Twilight Zone ramps that I shared back in January to the specific trademark that CBS Broadcasting filed for Twilight Zone pinball in February. RUMOR: A Large Order Has Been Placed for Twilight Zone Pinball Ramps https://www.knapparcade.org/post/rumor-a-large-order-has-been-placed-for-twilight-zone-pinball-ramps CBS Broadcasting Filed Specific Trademark for Twilight Zone Pinball This Month https://www.knapparcade.org/post/cbs-broadcasting-files-specific-trademark-for-twilight-zone-pinball-this-month Other than the older Bally games that are being built by Haggis Pinball, all of the Bally remakes thus far have been done by Chicago Gaming Company, including Attack From Mars, Medieval Madness, Monster Bash and most recently Cactus Canyon. The build quality and improvements that CGC puts into the remake machines are incredible, but they are slooooow at building games. There has been some rumors out there that Planetary Pinball, the licenseholder (I checked, apparently that actually is one word) of Bally / Williams games has grown frustrated with CGC's rate of game production. I personally do not have any firsthand knowledge that is the case, but lots of people believe that. As an extension of that rumor, some people have been saying that this frustration has caused Planetary to look elsewhere to manufacturer the likely upcoming remake of Twilight Zone. Some have said that some combination of Pinball Brothers / Pedretti Gaming and their new subsidiary Euro Pinball Corp. are going to make Twilight Zone. I have never heard anything personally that suggests this is happening, but the rumor has been floating around out there. In a social media post showing off more pictures of their new factory this morning Pinball Brothers seemingly denied that it is making Twilight Zone. Specifically they said: "Hi Pinheads, just giving you a glimpse of our new factory floor where we are currently building both Aliens and Queens. Oh yes, and some more exciting news from us very soon 😎 #alienpinball #queenpinball #europinballcorp" When asked in the comments section of that post if that "exciting news" was Twilight Zone, Pedretti said the following: TZ coming soon ? A: what is TZ? Pinball Brothers everyone is waiting for the Twilight Zone remake! oh we must have missed a memo Disclaimers need to be added here that it's still possible that they are making Twilight Zone, just not next or that they are making it and the social media person does not know, but I view moth of these possibilities as being unlikely. The above statement ties in with what I was told when I spoke with the Pinball Brothers folks in person at an event late last year. A third licensed pinball machine, after Alien and Queen, is coming from Pinball Brothers later this year. Supposedly the license is not as "Big" as the first two, but it is a license. I believe that this new game will be the first machine that Pinball Brothers designed from scratch, rather than a revamped Heighway Pinball design like its first two games were. I can't wait to see what they're working on. In the mean time, here's some more pictures of the Company's new Euro Pinball Corp factory.