IAAPA 2022 runs from 14 to 18 November in Orlando, Florida. The major amusement-industry trade show covers far more than arcade games, with theme-park rides, attractions, inflatables and museum equipment also represented. For Australian operators and enthusiasts, it offers a useful snapshot of the products and ideas shaping location-based entertainment.
This preview reflects information available before the event. Shipping issues or other unforeseen problems could prevent some products from appearing, and announced line-ups may change.
For readers comparing the show’s commercial hardware with home entertainment, RETROCADE’s Arcade Machine Buying Guide explains the main cabinet considerations, while the Arcade Blog covers more industry news.
Arcade, redemption and pinball exhibitors
Adrenaline Amusements — booths 643 and 647
Adrenaline had not confirmed its IAAPA line-up before publication. The company regularly brings new material to trade shows, and its two-booth presence suggested that visitors could see more than its established redemption and arcade products.
American Pinball — booth 640
Legends of Valhalla Classic was expected to be present as shipping began. American Pinball had also discussed new projects without naming them, so an early reveal remained possible. The company announced that Scorbit integration would begin with Hot Wheels, with the feature debuting at the event.
Amusement Source International — booth 209
ASI’s redemption-heavy display was also expected to include video titles such as Sky Rider 2 and Sniper Strike II. A preview also listed the VR shooter X-Spy, whose presentation appeared similar to Sega’s VR Agent.
Andamiro USA — booth 600
The announced products included the Avengers ball-drop game, a SpongeBob pusher and Bobblehead Baseball. Andamiro also announced that Pump It Up would be present with a software update, although a completely new edition was deferred until the following year. There was no indication that Chrono Circle would appear, leaving it a Round1USA exclusive.
Bandai Namco Amusements — booths 900 and 1000
Both the American and European divisions would be represented. The European division distributes selected products, so the display could include games from brands such as Adrenaline Amusements and Raw Thrills. Expected titles included Dead Heat Unleashed and Pac-Man Battle Royale Chompionship; a previously tested Batman whacker appeared to have been cancelled, although an unannounced redemption product remained possible.
Barron Games — booth 806
Barron planned to show air hockey and foosball products, with the main emphasis on Birdly VR and Koliseum VR foosball.
Bay Tek Entertainment — booth 1015
Bay Tek’s new redemption game Big Ticket Drop was scheduled to make its industry debut. The company is also known for displaying test products that do not always progress to full release.
Betson and Raw Thrills — booths 517, 615 and 819
Although presented through Betson, this display was effectively Raw Thrills’ showcase. Fast & Furious Arcade, Minecraft Series 2 cards, King Kong and Super Bikes 3 were expected. A standard-definition Halo: Fireteam Raven or MotoGP VR appearance would have been an unexpected bonus.
Chicago Gaming Company — booth 200
The company’s next remake pinball title had not been identified. Its limited public announcements made the line-up difficult to predict, though the Cactus Canyon remake remained a notable recent product.
Coastal Amusements — booth 1315
Coastal listed the debuts Snow Day, Road Trip, Galaxy Rangers, Dinosaur Era, Slide Up and four-player Zombie Land, alongside other products in development. Zombie Land was listed on the manufacturer’s site, while Galaxy Rangers had already been available in Europe. Dinosaur Era was described as a new water-gun videmption game; the formats of the other less familiar titles were not clear.
Elaut USA — booths 829, 1024 and 1329
Elaut’s broad portfolio spans cranes, coin pushers and partner products. Touch Magix planned to show Carnival Cups Crane, produced with Coast-To-Coast, plus linked versions of Mega Blaster and SpaceWarp 66. Gold & Mace was listed for a January 2023 release, while the status of Surfin’ Surfari was uncertain.
exA-Arcadia — booth 415
exA-Arcadia planned to debut a cabinet design with 12 cabinets, correcting an earlier estimate of 16. Its cartridge system allowed 31 games to be shown, including public debuts for a new version of Donut Dodo!, Arcana Heart 3 Xtend, Jitsu Squad and Shinorubi Pink Label.
ICE — booths 1606 and 1806
Dodgeball – Ultimate Arena, World Football Pro and the videmption game Shipwreck were expected. Atari’s tested Asteroids did not appear to have made the final selection. The dodgeball cabinet was reportedly considerably larger in person than photographs suggested.
IMPLY — booth 800
The Brazilian bowling specialist was expected to focus on bowling rather than a broad arcade range. Its recent arcade-related product included a dinosaur-themed bowling experience.
Incredible Technologies — booth 813
The display was expected to include Golden Tee PGA Tour, Retro Raccoons and Arcade Collection. Because Golden Tee PGA Tour launched outside the company’s usual September cycle, a further new reveal seemed unlikely, although its home version had recently been announced.
Jennison Entertainment Technologies — booth 1006
Jennison mainly serves redemption and kiddie-ride markets, but its UK-imported Quick Shot could operate as either a video or videmption game and was expected to return.
Jersey Jack Pinball — booth 1735
The company had not formally confirmed its line-up, but Guns N’ Roses and Toy Story 4 had recently appeared at Pinball Expo and were likely candidates. A new title was possible, given Jersey Jack’s history of IAAPA debuts, including an early Pirates of the Caribbean version.
Kalkomat and IGPM — booth 628
The Polish manufacturer, represented in the United States by IGPM Group, was expected to show boxing machines, Cliffhanger and Hit The Green, a punching-and-kicking machine first shown at Amusement Expo.
LAI Games — booth 831
LAI’s announced games included the redemption titles FGTeeV: Out of Time and Rick and Morty: Blips and Chitz, plus a VR edition of Asphalt 9 Legends Arcade. Its Hunted mode puts players in an escape scenario involving security pursuit.
Other arcade-focused exhibitors
Luck Game, booth 420, was expected to show a possible new version of Super Firing, its interpretation of Sega’s 2Spicy; the company is otherwise known for bumper cars and kiddie rides. PLAYMIND, booth 1818, planned a four-player version of its six-player PLAYBOX ball-toss attraction.
Retro Arcade, booth 1717, was returning with its remakes of Taito’s Ice Cold Beer and Zeke’s Peak, although production timing and ordering details remained unclear.
Sega Amusements, booth 1010, was promoting Crazy Rafting, Drone Racing Genesis and Storm Rider 2, along with Bop It! and a pirate-themed electromechanical shooting-gallery redemption game. The Solar System product shown at IAAPA Europe was not expected.
Step Revolution, booth 638, teased a “big, beautiful and bold” new product. It could have been a new StepManiaX cabinet, perhaps a DX model, or an entirely different machine. StepManiaX had become a strong presence in dance gaming, in a market where Pump It Up had faced limited competition outside Round1USA and Dave & Buster’s.
Stern Pinball, booth 412, was expected to centre its display on James Bond, with Godzilla and Rush also available. An unannounced 60th-anniversary edition remained a possibility.
Team Play, booth 227, planned to show Carnival Wheel, its new large-format wheel redemption game, and the Photo kiddie ride.
TecWay, booth 1602, was a wildcard after a history of unusual redemption and video products. The Really Big Crane Company, booth 215, planned a giant crane and might also revisit Zombie Jam. Triotech, booths 5424 and 5818, was relocating from its usual area and was expected to show established attractions such as XD Dark Ride and Typhoon, alongside a new coin-op multiplayer game believed to be called Qube.
UNIS, booth 1306, planned to present more than 30 games, including Emoji Roller, Wicked Tuna, Star Crusaders II and the VR shooter Sailor’s Quest VR. The latter used mounted guns as controllers and a motion-based platform, although the exact base was not known.
Valley-Dynamo, booth 2000, was expected to focus on commercial air hockey, including the new Black Thunder table, apparently a redesign of Black Hole. Wik, booth 843, had not disclosed its line-up but was known for products such as Wik basketball. Komuse, S&B Toy and Smart Industries were also worth noting for redemption and crane equipment.
VR, augmented reality and attraction systems
These exhibitors focus primarily on larger location-based entertainment installations for family entertainment centres, museums, casinos and theme parks. Several combine VR with motion platforms, projection mapping or free-roam play rather than conventional arcade cabinets.
Boxblaster VR — booth 1888
Boxblaster was expected to show its arena with current software. The single-player Gold & Mace was associated with a January launch, although its relationship with Elaut remained uncertain.
Creative Works — booths 4072 and 4271
Creative Works planned to show the SpongeBob VR attraction, Fury VR Solo from VRstudios and eight- and 16-player versions of Limitless VR, a free-roam arena using mapped walls and props.
DOF Robotics — booths 2286 and 2686
DOF Robotics was expected to present theme-park and medium-scale attraction technology, following earlier dome-screen and VR systems such as Grave Digger VR. Its Moon Mission experience lasts 30 to 40 minutes, making a full-size show version unlikely; it also does not use VR.
Hero Zone VR — booth 3486
This Belgian operator uses Meta Quest headsets in an open arena. It was not clear whether its games were exclusive to the system or also available for home use.
HOLOGATE — booths 2883 and 3083
Ghostbusters VR Academy was the major new attraction. Its two-storey layout places Ectomobile-1 training downstairs and proton-pack ghost-catching upstairs, alongside software supporting HOLOGATE’s existing arena network.
INOWIZE — booth 3473
INOWIZE was returning with the six-player Arkadia VR arena and introducing QBIX, a mixed-reality experience using projection-mapped walls and wireless controllers rather than headsets.
LASERTRON — booth 1800
Its mixed-reality axe-throwing attraction was expected to return, while additional AR or MXR products had not been confirmed.
MaxFlight — booth 2215
MaxFlight’s simulator range includes fighter jets and roller coasters, with systems marketed to theme parks, family entertainment centres, museums and casinos.
Phenomena — booth 5609
The company’s free-roam VR arena concentrates on competitive esports-style experiences, including a newer title built around dance gameplay.
Rilix — booth 838
Rilix was expected to return with its non-motion VR roller-coaster platform. A further new product had not been announced.
SPREE Interactive — booths 3888 and 3889
Previously known as Holodeck VR, SPREE develops wireless, open-arena experiences that generally favour adventure and exploration over rapid arcade action.
Talon Simulations — booth 2989
Talon, whose systems had appeared at Dave & Buster’s, was promoting its availability to a wider range of venues. The Talon Vortex is a seated motion cabinet supporting multiple games on one platform.
Valo Motion — booth 4879
Valo Motion combines projection mapping with physical activity through products including the multiplayer ValoArena, interactive climbing wall and trampoline games.
VAR LIVE — booth 202
The Hong Kong-based company was expected to show the VAR BOX or related VR products, although no new hardware or software had been confirmed.
Virtuix — booth 1828
Virtuix’s Omni Arena platform uses an omnidirectional treadmill. Its new VR rhythm game, Rhythm Master, was scheduled to debut at the show.
VR Coaster — booth 2272
The German company specialises in adding VR experiences to roller coasters and other out-of-home attractions.
VR 360 Action — booth 4882
Its expected range included VR motion simulators, racing experiences and plank-walking attractions.
VRLEO USA — booth 110
VRLEO USA was promoting a self-service VR arcade cabinet with a UV-light system designed to sanitise the headset.
VRsenal — booth 427
Rhythmatic 2 was expected to debut in a new cabinet that would become VRsenal’s standard design. The platform was also being licensed to VRstudios for Football Frenzy.
XR Immersive Tech and Synthesis VR — booth 2082
The company was returning with Uncontained VR, a multiplayer free-roam attraction built inside converted shipping containers.
What else might appear?
Trade-show previews can never capture every last-minute addition or surprise. Motion Sphere, which had promoted a Star Wars Sphere, was not listed, while VR-focused MediaMation had decided not to attend so it could concentrate on existing installations.
The breadth of the 2022 line-up ranged from dance platforms and pinball to redemption, mixed reality and large-scale VR. For anyone assessing a commercial attraction—or comparing the wider market with home arcade machines—IAAPA remained one of the clearest places to see where the industry was heading.
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