American Pinball announced Galactic Tank Force: Victory Edition this morning, a final run of one hundred units, alongside a hefty code update and some interesting clues as to where the company may be headed.
Within the press kit, AP emphasized the word 'final' four times. This very much is the final production run of Galactic Tank Force, American Pinball’s original sci-fi adventure, the final one hundred units you can buy, and at a glance, this is by no means an Irish goodbye.
First, and most notably, the release coincides with a code update, now live, including a Tank Zulu mini-wizard mode which was named in the game’s feature list back in 2023, new callouts, and additional extra balls.
As for the edition itself, the Victory Edition runs $8,995, the same price the Deluxe launched at in 2023. It carries the same standard package, shaker motor, physical knocker, and Magic Glass. Added on top is a Galactic Blue powder-coated armor package, custom apron and shooter lane decals numbered one through one hundred, plus an interactive motorized tank sculpt that reacts during game modes. The new tank mech is the first to leverage American’s new partnership with mod-maker Art of Pinball.
Shipping begins in August.
Notably, this approach seems to be similar to the one they used with the Houdini 100th Anniversary Edition earlier this year, although with more extensive code and aesthetics updates. Not a bad idea for a newly revamped manufacturer to get some practice reps on existing products and show what they can deliver before a full run of a new game.
Original game artist Chris Franchi returns to the project for the new topper, a new dual-panel lit acrylic of Captain Kyan, included in the Victory Edition but $179 for existing owners. Franchi, while currently a full-time employee with Spooky Pinball, has been associated with American a while now, having done the game's original artwork, the company logo that debuted alongside it, and art updates for the Houdini 100th Anniversary release.
Curiously, there's no mention of designer Dennis Nordman anywhere in the release, save for the game still taking place in the Namdron Galaxy.
Previous owners can also purchase the interactive tank mech for $299 (limited to 150 units), which ship late fall.
There was one innocuous sentence in the release that jumped out and smacked me in the head though: American Pinball is additionally making the sculpts for the UFO, Spybot and robot publicly available through STL files. Bluntly, this is something you just don’t see manufacturers do, as they're effectively encouraging their player base to mod their work, nudging the pin towards being distinctly yours.
When I bumped into American Pinball owner J Bryan Vincent at Midwest Gaming Classic, he mused on the idea of owners being able to pick and choose what they wanted in their pins, with content being à la carte. With even the game's sculpts now fair game, American Pinball seems to be heading down a rather interesting uncharted path.
All in all, a rather nice send-off to an original theme, and I'm genuinely curious to see if American continues the practice of modular games.
Paul Melio spent ten years as a game designer, running an indie studio and later shipping titles for Roblox, and has since relocated to Chicago
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