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The final instalment of our AAA 2026 coverage surveys the remaining arcade manufacturers and games exhibited in China. Several companies have international distribution connections, although many of these releases may remain limited to the domestic market.

This round-up follows our earlier coverage of Wahlap, Bandai Namco, UNIS and Ace Amusement. For Australian operators and collectors tracking new releases, it is a useful snapshot of the genres, cabinet styles and business models shaping the Chinese arcade market.

Some of the show’s video coverage is also available as a livestream.

Ace Amusement recap

Ace Amusement supplied additional show photographs and a recap video, including further views of its video games and redemption products. The company also made the extra material available here.

Arccer

Arccer remains focused largely on coin pushers and rhythm games. The company appeared at IAAPA 2025 with pushers, while its music titles have attracted attention from rhythm-game enthusiasts and some importers. UDC has offered one of its games in Europe, but major international distribution remains limited.

Its leading rhythm release is Dance Cube Evo, which has developed beyond its early resemblance to Maimai. The AAA 2026 version uses Arccer’s established cabinet family, but is not the same version sold by UDC in Europe.

Baohui

Baohui produces substantial redemption and coin-pusher equipment, while also manufacturing and publishing cabinets for a range of IGS titles. Its role is comparable to Wahlap’s work with IGS, including collaborative projects visible on the show floor. Despite operating for a similar length of time to Wahlap and UNIS, Baohui is less familiar internationally because of its historical focus.

Speed Rider 4DX is its most significant current video-game release. First shown at the previous AAA exhibition, the IGS title has since gained representation from Bandai Namco in North America and Sega Amusements in the United Kingdom and Europe. Its format has also influenced several newer games, alongside Phantom Vanguard.

Flamestone

Flamestone has built an international presence through shooting-gallery products. A game first known as Top Gun was distributed in the UK as Skill Shooter by Electrocoin and in the United States as Quick Shot by JET Games. JET later adopted several more Flamestone products under its “Shot” branding, including Giga Shot. The company is now exploring genres beyond shooting games.

Market naming is not always straightforward: Leon Amusement often acts as Flamestone’s Western agent, and the two names are sometimes used interchangeably.

The company’s main new attraction was Flamestone Armor. Despite its appearance, it is not a conventional VR game: the overhead headset displays show both eyes rather than providing separate stereoscopic images. The cabinet suggests elements of Beach Head 2002, VR Agent and Alpha Ops VR Strike.

The adjustable headset assemblies appear to lower from above, a practical feature that could also create safety concerns if children or players pull on them and destabilise the cabinet.

Flamestone Jet joins the current wave of twin-screen fighter attractions with motion platforms. Its visible game imagery leans towards science fiction and fantasy rather than a straightforward military air-combat setting. Flamestone’s earlier work received a similarly unusual localisation as G.I. Joe: Tank Wars, although that revised product was not shown here.

Flamestone also displayed electromechanical shooting ranges, following products such as On Target, which Sega Amusements sells in Australia and other markets. Shooting Carnival uses a bright neon presentation, although its software appeared to need further refinement.

HY Technology

HY Technology has a varied portfolio. It officially brought Sega Amusements’ Bop It! Arcade to China and has developed original redemption products, including the wrecking-ball videmption game Demolition King, which found UK representation through Harry Levy despite limited United States distribution.

Aegis Unbound: Chronicle of the Broken Seal was one of HY’s most eye-catching introductions. The shooter is being developed by 3MindWave, a regular Sega Amusements collaborator also behind Apex Rebels. Details remain limited, but gyro-based play and an elaborate cabinet are confirmed. Its ruined, post-modern visual direction recalls Namco’s Lost Land Adventure, with a more detailed finish.

HY also presented Pinball Blast, an attempt to combine pinball play with redemption. It follows earlier experiments including Pinball XP and HY’s own Mini Pinball. The new product can reportedly be configured as either a ticket game or a prize merchandiser.

The playfield is simpler than a typical Western pinball machine and uses a timed session rather than a ball count. Five upper-left drop targets appear to control the bonus, while the pop bumpers sit in an unusual recessed area. The central post and limited playfield lighting are also distinctive; most of the illumination appears to come from the backboard.

The merchandiser version retains the same layout but awards a physical prize instead of tickets. Its unusual format could be tested in overseas venues, particularly if the prizes were tied closely to the game’s theme.

HY Pinball Prize merchandiser

Lilian

Lilian returned with Stellar Echo and a new edition of the E5 dance-game series, both introduced at the previous year’s show. The company also brought a substantial selection of redemption equipment.

Its principal new attraction was a karaoke booth called Sing A Rec. Karaoke installations have periodically appeared in arcades, and this product continues that approach rather than representing a conventional video arcade cabinet.

SEA

SEA has produced smaller-scale arcade and redemption titles including Big Sea Fishing for Sega Amusements, the kiddie driver Hot Riders and videmption shooter Ice Crackers. Its larger non-redemption projects have been less common.

Ling Cage is a light-gun game based on the Chinese 3D animated science-fiction series of the same name. The licence should give it local appeal, although an Australian or broader Western release appears unlikely on the information available.

Superwin

Superwin, officially known as Superwing, has been active for longer than some of the other smaller manufacturers at the show. Its previous products include Allstars Basketball for Sega Amusements, Smash DX for LAI Games and the water-gun game Ice Man, distributed by Coastal Amusements. The Superwing name is not consistently used because of copyright complications involving a children’s animated property.

Flash Rider applies the moving-bike idea associated with Speed Rider 4DX to car racing. Superwin also showed stacked-screen and vertical-screen MAX versions for this game and its motorcycle counterpart. No significant Western distributor has been announced for those versions.

Mission X is a light-gun shooter built around a weapon-rest concept similar to Phantom Vanguard and Ace’s Cold Trigger. Its larger plastic machine guns replace the simpler pistols used by those games, but the broader format remains familiar. Superwin’s other recent shooters, The Future and Mini World, differentiate themselves more clearly through their themes.

Other notable exhibitors

Yuto Games continued its unusually active online promotion, with Chasing Speed among its main show products. The F1 simulator uses vertical displays and flat courses, while another attraction resembles a DOF Robotics-style military vehicle with several player positions.

Tecway, one of Taiwan’s longer-established arcade manufacturers, appears to have a close working relationship with Bandai Namco. Its show display included the Pac-Man kiddie ride and whack-a-mole or ghost machines, following its earlier exhibition of Bandai Namco’s Gator Panic ride. Tecway also showed another stacked-screen racer.

Jiaxin displayed a collection heavily influenced by current Chinese arcade trends, including large-screen racers and multi-seat horse-racing attractions sharing a single display.

Xitan again exhibited Magic Sound, the touchscreen rhythm game that appeared on several distributor stands at Chinese trade shows the previous year. Its developer and background remain unclear.

Playmore is a major redemption manufacturer associated with coin pushers distributed by LAI Games and the High Five crane range. After introducing an original card-game attraction last year, it showed a stacked-screen lottery-style product that appears primarily aimed at the Chinese market.

Tong-Li works extensively in redemption, including pusher projects with UNIS and Andamiro. Its new light-gun game, Dino Land, features a sculpted velociraptor head on the cabinet and may include a nozzle for mist or smoke effects.

Oculeap has been associated with VR but is now exploring other applications as interest in that sector cools. Ion Strike is a physical-digital pinball concept in which players operate flippers using two foot pads connected to a robot-themed video pinball table. A single DDR-style platform with a support bar could make the control layout more practical, but the concept is an inventive departure.

Oculeap Ion Strike Digital Pinball

What AAA 2026 tells us about the market

AAA 2026 was a busy exhibition, but its most prominent titles also highlighted the importance of Western intellectual property in China. The Chinese edition of NBA Superstars and Cyberpunk 2077: Chrome Rush were among the major attractions, rather than locally originated Asian licences.

There were imaginative exceptions, notably Aegis Unbound and Ion Strike, but imitation remains a visible issue. Some products appear to reproduce established cabinet and gameplay formulas with limited changes, a trend that may be accelerated by inexpensive AI-assisted asset production.

Which machines will travel to Europe, North America or Australia is still uncertain. UNIS is expected to export most of its line-up, while Asphalt 9 Legends Arcade Plus and Aegis Unbound look like strong candidates for wider distribution. JET Games may also pursue Flamestone Jet. Ace Amusement is expanding its international activity, potentially through relationships with Coastal and Amusement Source International.

The prize-focused pinball experiments were among the show’s more unexpected ideas. They may receive overseas testing, although established pinball manufacturers would likely approach the format differently.

For readers comparing new commercial attractions with home setups, RETROCADE’s arcade machine buying guide covers the practical considerations involved in choosing a machine. Our racing arcades and virtual pinball machines collections provide useful points of comparison, while the arcade blog follows further industry developments.

Additional AAA 2026 media may lead to another livestream. Coverage prepared for the LBX Collective is also scheduled to appear on YouTube this Sunday.


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