2026 Pinball Is Getting OUT OF CONTROL… And I Made It Worse!
Summary
2026 pinball releases create collection chaos; Ralph juggles trades for Bon Jovi, Totan, Fallout amid industry supply crunch.
Retro Ralph discusses the unprecedented volume of pinball releases in 2026 (13+ games so far), the challenges of collection management in a niche hobby with limited space, and his personal situation of orchestrating multiple trades to acquire new games while managing delivery logistics. He addresses community concerns about manufacturer communication (specifically Pinball Brothers) and explains his motivations for home ownership as a content creator.
Highlights
- 13 confirmed or near-certain games released or shipping in 2026: Pokemon, Yukon Yeti, Three Musketeers, Transformers, Totan Remake, Sonic the Hedgehog, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Ender's Game, Bon Jovi, Circus Voltaire Reimagined, Fallout, a Stern remaster, and Goonies by Spooky
- Pinball manufacturers do not provide free games to content creators; Stern's loaner program through 47 marketing was an exception but has ended
- Pinball Brothers has not communicated publicly with the community about company status despite concerns, though the company did respond to individual inquiries
- Predator by Pinball Brothers was negatively impacted by tariffs and faced community criticism for not featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger's full likeness
- Tilt Games arcade in Phoenix (owned by Jason Webb) is shutting down due to owner health issues
- Retro Ralph is trading/selling multiple games (Deadpool, Evil Dead, Predator) to fund acquisitions of newer releases
- Back to the Future licensing by Dutch Pinball has been held for approximately 25 years with no release
- Harry Potter by Jersey Jack Pinball is the best-selling JJP game and Eric Meunier gave players 'everything' in terms of thematic integration
This might be the craziest year pinball has seen in a long time… and I may have made it even crazier for myself. 😂 In this episode of The Flipside Podcast, I break down the insane number of new pinball machines hitting in 2026, including Fallout, Bon Jovi, Tales of the Arabian Nights, Yukon Yeti, Sonic the Hedgehog, Transformers, Circus Voltaire and more. I also reveal the major changes happening in my own pinball collection, the games I’m selling and trading, what’s arriving next, and how I somehow ended up with multiple new machines showing up at basically the same time. Plus, we talk Pinball Expo 2026, Yukon Yeti, Pinball Brothers and Predator, boutique manufacturers, and which new games could steal the show at Expo.
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