An All-New AC/DC? Spooky to Up Production? No Addams Family? Turner & American Pinball Production Updates
By knapparcade
Happy Friday everyone! I have a couple of quick rumors to talk about and then some actual news. For a while now, I've been confused by the rumors surrounding Stern Pinball's 2026 remastered game. Several months ago, I heard from a very reliable source that Stern has John Borg working on a remastered version of its 2015 KISS pinball machine. At the same time, many people are absolutely convinced that AC/DC is the next remastered game from Stern. Which is it? Is it one? Is it both? Well, I heard a rumor recently that would explain the situation. Someone recently reached out and told me that they heard Stern has designer John Borg working on a remastered KISS AND an all-new AC/DC pinball machine. That would mean that we would be getting a new AC.DC rather than a spruced-up version of Steve Ritchie's 2012 pin. Let me add a disclaimer to this right now that I have absolutely no idea if this is true. IF it is, it would explain all of the talk about how both KISS and AC/DC pins are coming from Stern. That actually makes more sense to me than Stern remastering a game that was made by a designer who is no longer with the Company. More rumors...I heard that the license holders for the Addams Family aren't interested in licensing anything from the 1991 film The Addams Family. They are trying to steer people who want the IP towards the original Addams Family content. Before looking into it, I actually had no idea that the property was originally a comic strip that ran in The New Yorker magazine from 1938 through 1988 and was later compiled into compilation books like the 2010 book The Addams Family: An Evilution. Is this licensing rumor true? I have absolutely no idea, but I believe the person who told me this. IF it's true, it means that despite the long list of Bally Williams games that have been or are getting remade, we probably aren't getting one for the super-popular 1992 Bally The Addams Family pin. Similarly, we aren't getting a new game based on the movie, either - which I know manufacturers have inquired about. With the Addams Family licensing issues and Twilight Zone pinball (1993 Bally) stuck in Chicago Gaming purgatory, those are two potentially huge classic games that I think would sell like hotcakes that don't seem to be happening. Last rumor...Someone recently told me that Spooky Pinball is strongly considering raising the production number for its 2027 pinball machine...most likely based on The Goonies. The new number is likely to be higher than the 888 Evil Dead and 999 Beetlejuice pins that it made, but fewer than the 1,969 Scooby-Doo pins that it was allowed to build.OK, that's all the rumors I have for today. Now on to confirmed news. This morning, the LoserKid Pinball Podcast released a great interview with Turner Pinball's Chris Turner. Here are my notes about Turner's upcoming game Yukon Yeti, its new factory and future games: - Turner's current facility can produce roughly 220 units per year. At that rate, fulfilling 500 orders would take approximately two years. Chris has been telling buyers it "could be up to two years" as a worst-case based on current capacity. However, the timeline improves significantly if the new facility comes online on schedule — he's hoping to ramp production there and "expedite the delivery of all the games." So the honest answer is: early buyers are probably looking at shipments beginning in the coming months, but the tail end of the run could stretch into 2028 unless the new facility accelerates things. - Chris visited the new facility site earlier the same week as the recording. They're currently getting the road put in and working on power and infrastructure. His target is to be operating in the new building by the end of 2026. He acknowledged the exact timing will directly impact Yukon Yeti delivery schedules. The new facility will "ramp up production capability substantially" — though he didn't give a specific units-per-year target for the expanded operation. - The next Turner Pinball game will likely be a licensed title. He said he "can't really talk about any of the things that we're working on" but stated plainly that they're "going to move in that direction" and that the company is "ready for that." He framed the three unlicensed original IPs (Ninja Eclipse, Merlin's Arcade, Yukon Yeti) as intentional stepping stones that allowed them to learn manufacturing, build their platform, and develop their systems without the pressure and cost of a license. - Explicitly asked if he would do more spiritual successors to other Bally/Williams games, he said he doesn't think so — Yukon Yeti was a "right place, right time" situation because Dennis Nordman specifically wanted to finish the game he started at Deeproot, and it made sense for both parties. He doesn't see it as a repeatable model. In case you missed it, below is a link to my article from yesterday about Turner revamping the audio package for Yukon Yeti: Turner Pinball Signs Pinball Industry Audio Legend Chris Granner to Revamp Yukon Yeti Audio
Last up, I have a current look at the production line at American Pinball's Palatine, Illinois factory. Yesterday AP shared pictures of a cool factory tour that they gave a group of local high school students. Looking at the pictures, we can clearly see AP's new 100th Anniversary Houdini pinball machine on the line. It also looks like they are making Hot Wheels. Note, I have blurred out or removed the faces of the kids from the images. That's why they look weird lol. I'm also sharing an image of my friend Brady and I hanging out with American Pinball's newest employee and my long-time friend Rob Rath at the recent Pintastic New England show. Great time.
