American Pinball Has Big Plans for the Future

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Mar 28, 2022

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.019

TL;DR

American Pinball plans 6+ games with Nordman designs and potential Riot collaboration.

Summary

American Pinball has at least six games in its pipeline with plans to release two per year over three years. Two machines are designed by Dennis Nordman, with his next title reportedly 90% complete and unlicensed; his second game is rumored to be a White Water sequel. Supply chain constraints may delay the next title's debut until 2023. A potential Riot Pinball collaboration game is speculated to be Wrath of Olympus.

Key Claims

American Pinball has at least six pinball machines lined up in development
medium confidence · Knapp Arcade article citing rumors; four unlicensed, two licensed themes
American Pinball next game is designed by Dennis Nordman, unlicensed, 90% complete with working mechs and scoring
medium confidence · Knapp Arcade citing rumors from people who have seen the game
Dennis Nordman second game for American Pinball is rumored to be a White Water sequel similar to Yukon Yeti
low confidence · Knapp Arcade rumor; references Nordman's work at Deep Root Pinball
American Pinball will add a third production line to increase output
medium confidence · Knapp Arcade article; cited as helping speed up production
The next American Pinball title may not be revealed until 2023 due to supply chain issues
medium confidence · Knapp Arcade article citing supply chain and parts availability constraints
One upcoming American Pinball game may be designed by Riot Pinball, potentially Wrath of Olympus
low confidence · Knapp Arcade speculation; author notes thematic similarity concerns with Valhalla
American Pinball released code update v 22.02.27 for Legends of Valhalla
high confidence · Knapp Arcade article; stated as just released at time of writing

Notable Quotes

“American already has at least its next six pinball machines lined up. Four of them are unlicensed and two are licensed themes.”
Knapp Arcade @ N/A — Confirms substantial pipeline; clarifies licensing split of upcoming titles
“The first of which also happens to be American's next game. It is an unlicensed theme that supposedly is already 90% done, is flippable with working mechs, some animations and scoring.”
Knapp Arcade @ N/A — Details development stage of Dennis Nordman's next game; high completion level
“People who have seen the game say that it is going to be amazing!”
Knapp Arcade @ N/A — Positive sentiment from playtesters about unreleased Nordman game
“American Pinball would like to release two pinball machines per year for the next three years.”
Knapp Arcade @ N/A — Production and release strategy; indicates 6-game pipeline matches timeline
“American essentially gets in as many parts in as it can, builds as many machines as it can with those parts and then waits for more parts to arrive.”
Knapp Arcade @ N/A — Describes supply chain constraint management strategy across the industry

Entities

American Pinballcompany Dennis Nordmanperson Barry OurslerpersonRiot PinballcompanyLegends of Valhallagame Wrath of Olympusgame White WatergameYukon Yetigame

Signals

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machine_intel: American Pinball has at least six games in development with plans for two releases per year over three years
medium · Knapp Arcade reports rumors of six-game pipeline with four unlicensed and two licensed themes
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product_strategy: American Pinball targeting two machine releases per year as growth strategy
medium · Article states company goal is two releases annually for next three years
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manufacturing_signal: American Pinball adding third production line to increase manufacturing output
medium · Knapp Arcade mentions third production line addition to help get games out faster
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supply_chain_signal: Supply chain issues affecting release timeline; next title potentially delayed until 2023
medium · Article discusses parts availability as limiting factor preventing 2022 debut of next title
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design_philosophy: American Pinball pursuing collaborations with established designers including Dennis Nordman and Riot Pinball
high · Two Nordman games and at least one Riot Pinball game confirmed or rumored in pipeline
?
rumor_hype: Positive community sentiment about unreleased Dennis Nordman game; described as '90% complete' with great reception from playtesters

Transcript

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Coming on the heels of one of the best presentations at the Texas Pinball Festival and one of the most transparent that I've ever seen, American Pinball has been generating a lot of excitement lately. So what is in store for the company in the future? Here's what I'm hearing...keeping in mind that these are all rumors at this point. American already has at least its next six pinball machines lined up. Four of them are unlicensed and two are licensed themes. This information was sourced prior to the recent announcement by AP that they will be manufacturing Barry Oursler's final game, so I do not know if it is included in these numbers. The Company would like to release two pinball machines per year for the next three years. Two of the machines in the American queue were designed by Dennis Nordman. The first of which also happens to be American's next game. It is an unlicensed theme that supposedly is already 90% done, is flippable with working mechs, some animations and scoring. The pin has at least one ramp and a 6-ball multiball. People who have seen the game say that it is going to be amazing! Rumor has it that Nordman game #2 is a White Water sequel, similar to the game that he was working at while he was still at Deeproot Pinball, which I believe was called Yukon Yeti. The next AP machine will not be ready to debut at the upcoming Midwest Gaming Classic. It likely will not be revealed at October's Pinball Expo in Chicago either. The addition of a third production line at American Pinball will help it get games out faster, but there is such an issue getting parts and so much interest in the company's current games that the next AP title may not be introduced until 2023. That seems like a long time to me, but time will tell. As I mentioned, like with all manufacturers these days, not just pinball, the supply chain continues to be an issue. American essentially gets in as many parts in as it can, builds as many machines as it can with those parts and then waits for more parts to arrive. As for some of the other American games in the pipeline, one of them is rumored to have been designed by Riot Pinball like the current game Legends of Valhalla. Some have said that the next AP - Riot game will be Riot's well-known Wrath of Olympus pin, which that has been out for several years in a small quantity. It seems to me as though that theme might be a little to close to Valhalla though so we'll see. Speaking of American Pinball, around an hour ago, the company dropped its latest code update for Legends of Valhalla, v 22.02.27.