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This Week in Pinball·article·analyzed·Jun 5, 2026

Analysis

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TL;DR

Sonic leaks mount as JJP trolls hunters; Licensing Expo dumps licensing rumors including Terminator, Speed Racer, and music acts.

Summary

This Week in Pinball reports on leaked Sonic playfield imagery and JJP's playful 404 page easter eggs, NDA playtesting activity around the unannounced title, a Resident Evil update for World Pinball, and extensive rumor intel from a haunted-attraction YouTuber's Licensing Expo floor walk covering Terminator 1&2, Bill & Ted, Rocky Horror, Monsterverse IP, Speed Racer, AC/DC, KISS, Grateful Dead, and artist interest in Pink Floyd, Mötley Crüe, and Def Leppard machines.

Key Claims

Jersey Jack Pinball's Sonic playfield has leaked and appears to confirm a fan layout and game-focused (not movie-based) Sonic theme
high confidence · This Week in Pinball editorial, citing circulating online images and noting 'There's still a chance it's very well-done AI, but it's probably legit'
Multiple content creators were invited to Transformers media day, then walked to JJP to playtest Sonic under NDA
medium confidence · This Week in Pinball reporting on industry sourcing; framed as 'word is' and described as either part of launch campaign or sign of licensing holdups
Terminator 1 & 2 and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure licensing has been discussed in pinball industry circles
medium confidence · Licensing Expo floor report via Hauntworld YouTuber; TWIP notes this was previously covered for paid subscribers in April
Rocky Horror Picture Show is reportedly in licensing negotiations with a pinball manufacturer
low confidence · Hauntworld's Licensing Expo floor walk, which TWIP describes as 'no pinball reporter, so take it all with a grain of salt'
Monsterverse IP (Godzilla, King Kong) has been licensed to an unnamed pinball manufacturer
low confidence · Hauntworld Licensing Expo report; unverified and manufacturer unidentified
Speed Racer rights holder reportedly discussed the property with Barrels of Fun
low confidence · Hauntworld Licensing Expo report; secondhand account from rights holder conversation
Stern is working on a new AC/DC machine with 'new songs'
medium confidence · Hauntworld Licensing Expo floor report; attributed to Stern but unconfirmed
Pink Floyd, Mötley Crüe, and Def Leppard are reportedly interested in pinball machines, while Green Day was approached and declined
low confidence · Hauntworld Licensing Expo report; described as artist interest but unverified

Notable Quotes

“I say 'supposed' only because nothing official or public has confirmed the title, even if it's been hinted at and leaked ad nauseam.”
This Week in Pinball editor — Frames the Sonic leak story — JJP has never officially confirmed the game despite extensive leaking
“TILT — NICE TRY DETECTIVE.”
Jersey Jack Pinball (404 page easter egg) — Shows JJP's awareness of clue-hunting behavior and willingness to playfully acknowledge it
“It's dumb, sure, but it's the kind of small touch you only bother with if you're paying attention — a playful wink aimed at the people who crawl manufacturer websites for clues”
This Week in Pinball editor — Reflects community detective/leakage culture and manufacturer engagement with it
“either Jersey Jack has one heck of a launch campaign loading, or there's a licensing hangup keeping things quiet — like, say, not being cleared to put the name in any public marketing yet.”
This Week in Pinball editor — Speculates on reasons for Sonic's continued secrecy despite playfield leak and creator NDA playtesting
“Stern you're loosing our trust… failures after failures = you lost! -Uncanny X-Men = fiasco. -King(pink)Kong = fiasco. -Fote = fiasco. -Trans(not)formers = fiasco.”
Community forum commenter (Pinside vote) — Reflects growing community sentiment against Stern quality and reliability; lists Transformers as a recent perceived failure
“A winner company will respect customers with nice mechs and real LE's: -Bof with Dune and Winchester ✅ -JJP with Harry Potter ✅”
Community forum commenter (Pinside vote) — Contrasts Barrels of Fun and JJP favorably against Stern on quality/LE strategy; shows collector sentiment shift
“Love the theme, so glad it's not the movies. It looks like it's got some fun shots, an interesting layout, and decently complete code.”
Community forum commenter (Pinside 'In' vote for Transformers) — Validates game-focused theme approach for Transformers; player approval of non-movie direction

Entities

Jersey Jack Pinballcompany SonicgameDaniel McKenziepersonChris KrentzpersonMichael SwansonpersonSam (Rush Fan Pinball)personThis Week in Pinball (TWIP)organizationKineticistproduct

Signals

?
leak_detection: Sonic playfield imagery circulating online; unconfirmed but credible (could be AI). Confirms fan layout and game-focused theme direction.
high · TWIP reports 'There's still a chance it's very well-done AI, but it's probably legit — and it confirms two of the bigger rumors: the fan layout, and that this is a game-focused Sonic, not a movie tie-in.'
?
rumor_hype: Community actively hunting for Sonic details on JJP website; discovered custom 404 easter egg at /pages/new-game-2026. Reflects deep engagement with manufacturer secrets.
high · TWIP discovers custom 404 page; notes 'people who crawl manufacturer websites for clues' as routine behavior; JJP acknowledges via 'TILT — NICE TRY DETECTIVE' message
?
machine_intel: Multiple content creators invited to Transformers media day, then walked to JJP for Sonic NDA playtesting. Suggests either major launch campaign in prep or licensing hold-up preventing public marketing.
medium · TWIP: 'word is that a bunch of creators double-dipped at the recent Transformers media day and walked down the street to JJP to playtest Sonic under NDA'
?
licensing_signal: Extensive licensing rumor dump from Licensing Expo floor walk covering Terminator 1&2, Bill & Ted, Rocky Horror, Monsterverse, Speed Racer, AC/DC, KISS, Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Green Day.
low · Hauntworld (haunted-attraction YouTuber) provided 46-minute Licensing Expo walk; TWIP notes 'no pinball reporter, so take it all with a grain of salt' but some rumors align with prior coverage
~
sentiment_shift: Community sentiment turning against Stern; multiple Pinside voters cite Uncanny X-Men, King Kong, FOTE, Transformers as 'fiescos' and criticize lack of quality mechanics and genuine LEs.

Transcript

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Sonic's playfield leaked, and JJP is trolling the clue-hunters. Plus a Licensing Expo rumor dump, a surprise Resident Evil update, and three new contributor pieces. This week it's zzzahara — "Speedracer." I've been bopping my head to it for a few weeks now, and frankly, it felt right for this issue. The reasons will click later on. I like the video, too — a sort of DIY bootleg Speed Racer cartoon. The song's off zzzahara's latest album, Distant Lands, which, coincidentally, is also out today. Pinball News of the Week Aussie Goes Viral for Space Cadet Project; We Got the Interview A few weeks back, Australian maker Daniel McKenzie went surprisingly viral after posting a video of his work-in-progress, custom-built Space Cadet pinball project. Ars Technica and The Verge both covered it (thanks to Ars for linking an old TWIP write-up of ours), and for a bit, it was everywhere. Chris Krentz seized the opportunity and reached out to Dan for an interview about the project, even getting his thoughts on the old deeproot whitewood for a Space Cadet–inspired pin. The full interview is on Kineticist. Best of luck with the project, Dan! The latest entry in Michael Swanson's Nutter's Pinball Restoration Spotlight series is an interview with Sam, aka Rush Fan Pinball — another prolific pinball restorer and YouTuber. Learn how Sam got into pinball restoration, why he started his channel, and some of the lessons he's learned along the way in this excellent interview. We Rebuilt Kineticist — And Paid TWIP Members Get Ad-Free Browsing The new Kineticist has been live for a few weeks, and one of the features we shipped in the rebuild is ad-free browsing for paid TWIP subscribers. Every article, every page, no ads. If you've been paying for TWIP, you already earned this. Here's how to turn it on: Link it to your TWIP subscription from your profile Browse ad-free for as long as your subscription is active Not a paid member yet? TWIP is free to read but not free to write — a paid subscription starts at $25/year, unlocks ad-free Kineticist, exclusive content, our Discord, and helps keep an independent pinball publication running. Most people join at $60/year. Like most of pinball, we're officially on Sonic watch — the supposed upcoming release from Jersey Jack Pinball. I say "supposed" only because nothing official or public has confirmed the title, even if it's been hinted at and leaked ad nauseam. A few interesting things have happened since our last update, and I'm basically pulling these from the notes we'd put in our eventual launch article. First, the playfield leaked. There's still a chance it's very well-done AI, but it's probably legit — and it confirms two of the bigger rumors: the fan layout, and that this is a game-focused Sonic, not a movie tie-in. The leaked playfield, which has been circulating online. Second, Jersey Jack has a sense of humor. Their site serves up two different 404 pages: the normal one, and a custom version living at /pages/new-game-2026 that just reads "TILT — NICE TRY DETECTIVE." I cracked up when I found it. It's dumb, sure, but it's the kind of small touch you only bother with if you're paying attention — a playful wink aimed at the people who crawl manufacturer websites for clues (which, yes, includes me) and occasionally turn something up when a page slips through. The custom 404 at /pages/new-game-2026. Their standard 404, for comparison. Third, word is that a bunch of creators double-dipped at the recent Transformers media day and walked down the street to JJP to playtest Sonic under NDA. To be clear, none of that is unusual; quiet NDA playtesting is a normal part of how these games come together. The interesting part is the lockdown around it — either Jersey Jack has one heck of a launch campaign loading, or there's a licensing hangup keeping things quiet — like, say, not being cleared to put the name in any public marketing yet. This one went out to paid subscribers last night: an update on World Pinball's upcoming Resident Evil game. I'd actually been chasing it for a few weeks, and it ties a bow on some confusing rumors that came out of a YouTuber's floor walk at the 2026 Licensing Expo (more on that next — it's genuinely interesting stuff). What I learned was surprising, though probably not that unusual for pinball. That's all I'll say here. Paid subscribers have the full story. Rumor Roundup: A Haunted-House Guy Walks the Licensing Expo The 2026 Licensing Expo hit Las Vegas in late May, and the most useful floor report came from a source I did not have on my bingo card. Hauntworld is mostly a haunted-attraction channel that usually only pops up in my feed for the occasional Stern rant — but this time, he turned up with a full walkthrough of the Licensing Expo, a show that's long been on my radar to attend for this very reason. Over the 46-minute walk, he name-drops a lot of interesting rumors, some of which the broader community already knew about, and others that are brand new. He's no pinball reporter, so take it all with a grain of salt — but a few track with crumbs we've already verified (like Resident Evil), so that's a plus for him. On the film and TV side, he came away with: Terminator 1 & 2 and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure; Rocky Horror Picture Show in negotiations; and Legendary's Monsterverse — Godzilla, King Kong and company — licensed to an unnamed manufacturer. The Terminator thread isn't new to us — we covered it for paid subscribers back in April. Then there's Speed Racer, which I'll admit is on my mind this week. The rights holder reportedly told him they'd already talked to Barrels of Fun about it, and he spent a while making the case for it as a perfect small-batch theme. Go, Speed Racer. On the music side, the headline is a new AC/DC with "new songs," attributed to Stern, with KISS in the mix too. He also heard Grateful Dead is licensed — another one we covered for subscribers back in January. The more interesting read was on which acts actually want a machine: Pink Floyd, Mötley Crüe, and Def Leppard are all reportedly into it, while Green Day was approached and passed. (He also stopped at Capcom to ask about that Resident Evil machine — see the block above for what we found there.) A Note on the Next Moving Units It's been a while since our last Moving Units update, and if you're a paid subscriber looking for the next one, know that it's on my radar. One of the problems, honestly, is that pinball in 2026 has been kind of boring — at least from the perspective of a sales-tracker series. It's mostly been dominated by one new release (Pokémon) and holdovers from 2025 (Harry Potter). Maybe I'll dust off some production estimates I've been working on instead. Stay tuned. Meme of the Week Meme of the Week has been dead and buried for a while, but I'm digging it up for one issue: I made this, and people seemed to get a kick out of it. Links of the Week IFPA Quarter Drop – 2026 2Q — The IFPA's second quarterly look behind the curtain. Mostly housekeeping but also: potential TGP reductions, a possible Hybrid rules tweak, and early talk of Women's Majors. Pinball Profile #439: Emily Reilhan — Speaking of the IFPA, the B.C. competitor who swept the women's circuit this year — Canadian, North American, and World titles — talks through the run, the mental game, and a hidden talent. Dirty Pool Podcast #33: Steve Bowden — A two-hour-plus sit-down with one of the hobby's great ambassadors — tournament competitor, broadcaster, rules analyst, and a manufacturer alum. “… Stern you’re loosing our trust… failures after failures = you lost! -Uncanny X-Men = fiasco. -King(pink)Kong = fiasco. -Fote = fiasco. -Trans(not)formers = fiasco. A winner company will respect customers with nice mechs and real LE’s: -Bof with Dune and Winchester ✅ -JJP with Harry Potter ✅ ” -Selected “Out” “All in and surprised by the out votes! Love the theme, so glad it's not the movies. It looks like it's got some fun shots, an interesting layout, and decently complete code.” -Selected “In” “Is the theme that doesn’t appeal to me. I never was a transformer enthusiast.” -Selected “Out” “I'm too old to be a Transformers (or Pokemon) kid.” -Selected “Out” “I’ve never been a fan of the Transformers franchise. I would need to resonate more with the theme to justify spending money on a game like that.” -Selected “Out” “Love the theme, not so much the implementation.” -Selected “Out” “I was a teen in the 80s, so I was more focused on how the girls in my school were transforming than TV.” -Selected “Out” “I like the IP and the game looks like it will be fun. Just another release day where people who had no intention of buying a game spend the week announcing, ad nauseum, all the reasons why they won't buy it....and hey, the Sonic bitchfest is only a month away!”