I've talked about how, as improbable as it seems, most likely some manufacturer is going to build a remake of the iconic 1993 Bally Pinball Machine Twilight Zone a number of times over the past several months...from the rumor about the large order placed for Twilight Zone ramps that I shared back in January to the specific trademark that CBS Broadcasting filed for Twilight Zone pinball in February.
RUMOR: A Large Order Has Been Placed for Twilight Zone Pinball Ramps
https://www.knapparcade.org/post/rumor-a-large-order-has-been-placed-for-twilight-zone-pinball-ramps
CBS Broadcasting Filed Specific Trademark for Twilight Zone Pinball This Month
Other than the older Bally games that are being built by Haggis Pinball, all of the Bally remakes thus far have been done by Chicago Gaming Company, including Attack From Mars, Medieval Madness, Monster Bash and most recently Cactus Canyon. The build quality and improvements that CGC puts into the remake machines are incredible, but they are slooooow at building games. There has been some rumors out there that Planetary Pinball, the licenseholder (I checked, apparently that actually is one word) of Bally / Williams games has grown frustrated with CGC's rate of game production. I personally do not have any firsthand knowledge that is the case, but lots of people believe that.
As an extension of that rumor, some people have been saying that this frustration has caused Planetary to look elsewhere to manufacturer the likely upcoming remake of Twilight Zone. Some have said that some combination of Pinball Brothers / Pedretti Gaming and their new subsidiary Euro Pinball Corp. are going to make Twilight Zone. I have never heard anything personally that suggests this is happening, but the rumor has been floating around out there. In a social media post showing off more pictures of their new factory this morning Pinball Brothers seemingly denied that it is making Twilight Zone. Specifically they said:
"Hi Pinheads, just giving you a glimpse of our new factory floor where we are currently building both Aliens and Queens. Oh yes, and some more exciting news from us very soon 😎
When asked in the comments section of that post if that "exciting news" was Twilight Zone, Pedretti said the following:
TZ coming soon ?
A: what is TZ?
Pinball Brothers everyone is waiting for the Twilight Zone remake!
oh we must have missed a memo
Disclaimers need to be added here that it's still possible that they are making Twilight Zone, just not next or that they are making it and the social media person does not know, but I view moth of these possibilities as being unlikely. The above statement ties in with what I was told when I spoke with the Pinball Brothers folks in person at an event late last year. A third licensed pinball machine, after Alien and Queen, is coming from Pinball Brothers later this year. Supposedly the license is not as "Big" as the first two, but it is a license. I believe that this new game will be the first machine that Pinball Brothers designed from scratch, rather than a revamped Heighway Pinball design like its first two games were.
I can't wait to see what they're working on. In the mean time, here's some more pictures of the Company's new Euro Pinball Corp factory.
