RUMORS! What Games Are in the Pipeline and When Will We See Them?

TL;DR

Knapp Arcade maps pinball pipeline: JJP Fast/Minions, Stern Pokémon/Transformers/Fallout/AC/DC/KISS, Spooky Goonies/Gremlins.

Summary

Key Claims

• Jersey Jack Pinball is developing a Fast and the Furious pinball machine, coming after Sonic the Hedgehog

  low confidence · Knapp Arcade expresses this as a true 'rumor' with only single-source confirmation and explicit low confidence: 'I have only heard one place and have no idea whether it is correct'

• Sonic the Hedgehog by Jersey Jack Pinball (Steve Ritchie design) is strongly rumored and 'almost certainly happening'

  high confidence · Knapp Arcade categorizes this as an 'almost certainly true' rumor distinct from speculative ones

• Jersey Jack Pinball may have licensing for Despicable Me / Minions

  low confidence · Knapp Arcade: 'I don't have massive confidence in FNF and Minions yet, but the talk is out there for sure'

• The long-rumored JJP Ghostbusters remake and JJP Matrix are not happening

  high confidence · Knapp Arcade directly states: 'The rumor that JJP is remaking Ghostbusters was garbage. It's not true. The long-rumored JJP Matrix isn't happening either.'

• Pedretti is remaking Tales of the Arabian Nights (1996 Williams game) and it may be shown at Texas Pinball Festival

  high confidence · Knapp Arcade: 'I have heard that Pedretti's next remake, the 1996 Williams game Tales of the Arabian Nights (TOTAN) is nearly ready. It is ready enough to show off at next week's Texas Pinball Festival'

• Pedretti's next remake after TOTAN will be Theatre of Magic (1995 Bally), expected mid-2026 reveal

  medium confidence · Knapp Arcade: 'Next up after TOTAN for Pedretti is a remake of the 1995 Bally pin Theatre of Magic... Expect to see Theatre revealed sometime mid-2026'

• American Pinball first game under new regime is a remake of Cirqus Voltaire (1997 Bally)

  medium confidence · Knapp Arcade: 'the rumor about the first game from the new and improved American Pinball is that they are doing a remake of the 1997 Bally pin Cirqus Voltaire (CV). Work on that game is well underway'

• American Pinball has two licensed games in development—one movie-based, one band-based

Notable Quotes

• “Is a JJP FNF pin definitely happening? I don't know, but to me it's very believable.”

  Knapp Arcade @ N/A — Acknowledges low confidence in Fast and the Furious rumor despite personal belief in plausibility

• “The rumor that JJP is remaking Ghostbusters was garbage. It's not true. The long-rumored JJP Matrix isn't happening either.”

  Knapp Arcade @ N/A — Directly debunks two long-standing JJP rumors with apparent confidence

• “Pedretti Gaming new and improved coding team in place I can't wait to see what they do with them.”

  Knapp Arcade @ N/A — Signals positive industry sentiment toward Pedretti's technical improvements

• “Spooky folks are going to have their hands full building the sold out Beetlejuice game for the rest of 2026.”

  Knapp Arcade @ N/A — Confirms Spooky's production constraints and Beetlejuice sellout status

• “This year's reveal will likely be a pin based on the 1985 film The Goonies. I am pretty confident about that, so much so that I'm already on a list for it.”

  Knapp Arcade @ N/A — Expresses high confidence in Spooky Goonies announcement and signals personal collector FOMO behavior

• “Chicago Gaming Company (CGC) continues to be the slowest manufacturer in the World.”

  Knapp Arcade @ N/A — Community perception of CGC production speed and business efficiency as industry laggard

• “Barrels of Fun sure keeps a good secret.”

  Knapp Arcade @ N/A — Indicates Barrels' opacity in project development and marketing strategy

• “Dune production pretty much done and the company cranking out a fairly small run of Winchester Mystery House we will almost certainly see Barrels' next game this year, perhaps as early as June?”

  Knapp Arcade @ N/A — Provides timeline inference based on production capacity; confirms Winchester Mystery House is in production

Entities

Signals

• ?

  machine_intel: Comprehensive mapping of industry pipeline shows multiple manufacturers with 12+ titles in various development stages through 2028

  high · Systematic coverage of Stern, JJP, Spooky, American Pinball, Pedretti, CGC, Dutch Pinball, Barrels, HEXA, Pinball Brothers, Multimorphic pipelines

• ?

  manufacturing_signal: Spooky and Barrels both noted as operating at or near capacity; CGC and Dutch Pinball identified as chronically slow manufacturers

  high · Spooky 'hands full' with Beetlejuice for rest of 2026; CGC 'slowest manufacturer in the world'; Dutch Pinball 'rivals CGC in slow department'

• $

  market_signal: High-confidence rumors trigger immediate collector FOMO; author already on waitlist for Goonies based on rumor confidence level

  high · Knapp: 'I am pretty confident about that, so much so that I'm already on a list for it' (Goonies); Spooky Beetlejuice already sold out

• ?

  rumor_hype: Author explicitly categorizes rumors into 'true rumors' vs 'garbage rumors,' indicating community develops refined epistemic hierarchies for pipeline intel

  high · Contrast between 'I am pretty confident' and 'almost certainly true' vs 'I have only heard one place' for FNF; explicit debunking of Ghostbusters/Matrix

• ?

  personnel_signal: American Pinball's new employee hire cited as credibility signal for Big Trouble in Little China rumor; Pedretti's 'new and improved coding team' signals quality improvements

  medium · Knapp: 'A recent hire lends credibility to it' (BTILC); 'With Pedretti's new and improved coding team in place I can't wait to see what they do'