October’s arcade and pinball round-up brings results from a major Big Buck Hunter tournament, a new Minecraft Dungeons Arcade level, fresh Penlalive testing, Australian venue news and a packed set of industry headlines ahead of IAAPA 2026.
Big Buck World Championship XIX crowns Kattey Pass
The 19th Big Buck World Championship and Buckfest 2026 have finished in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where 128 competitors battled through the virtual hunting tournament for substantial cash prizes. The event was livestreamed on BigBuckHunter.com, with coverage from both competition days available to watch.
Kattey Pass won the 2026 world title, becoming the first woman to take the overall championship. She also secured the $5,000 Ladies Tournament prize, making the result especially significant.
The 20th World Championship celebration will move back to Chicago in 2027. Organisers plan to award $200,000 in total prize money, including $35,000 for the champion. Big Buck Hunter itself is older than the World Championship series.
Both tournament streams are embedded below.
Minecraft Dungeons Arcade adds Howling Peaks
Raw Thrills and Play Mechanix used the event to showcase an update for Minecraft Dungeons Arcade. The new content adds the Howling Peaks level, while the cabinet now advertises 169 available cards.
The expanded card total points towards a possible Series 6 release. The update may also appear at IAAPA 2026 in the coming weeks, although a direct gameplay capture has not been confirmed.
Penlalive returns to Japanese location testing
Bandai Namco’s pen-light “wotagei” rhythm game Penlalive has resurfaced ahead of first announcements have been coming in for their Amusement Expo just before IAAPA next month.
The latest Japanese location test features revised software and an adjusted cabinet. Its most visible change is receiving a new round of location tests over in Japan, alongside the inclusion of a QR code scanner for save data,. Earlier versions had little meaningful in-game progression.
QR-based saving is common in many Chinese arcade games and is also used by some Western releases, including StepManiaX, rather than Japan’s dedicated networks such as ALL.Net. An Australian release still appears unlikely in the near term, but the revised progression system could make the game easier to operate in other markets.
Holler Shot appears in Australian venue plans
Timezone Australia has listed several games being introduced at its locations, including the previously unseen Holler Shot. Its augmented-reality shooting-range concept looks closely related to Cyberpunk 2077 Turf Wars, but the new title does not appear to carry that licence.
Timezone and LAI Games operate under the same parent company, which helps explain the connection. There has also been speculation that the Cyberpunk 2077 licence arrived late in development, meaning Holler Shot could represent an earlier or future non-licensed form of the concept. It remains unconfirmed whether LAI Games plans to remove the Cyberpunk branding from Turf Wars.
More Pinball Expo 2026 footage
Further videos from Pinball Expo 2026 in Schaumburg, Illinois, continue to appear after the event. Retro Ralph reviews the show and considers which machine made the strongest impression, while Stern Pinball has published additional footage.
Arcade releases from 2026 so far
A new short-form release summary covers arcade games from the third quarter of 2026, alongside a revised look at the second quarter. Readers comparing commercial cabinets can also browse RETROCADE’s arcade news archive.
Industry headlines
- GTI Asia China Expo 2026 Saw Over 100,000 Visitors Last Month, reporting attendance of more than 100,000 people, over twice the strongest reported IAAPA figure.
-
- uPlay America Debuting New Boxers At IAAPA 2026, Including Boxer TV.
- Leon Amusement Will Have Their Own Online Boxer Machine For IAAPA.
- Will Bob’s Space Racers Debut A New Kind Of Whack-A-Mole At IAAPA? The phrase “nod to where it all began” suggests a connection with the whack-a-mole format.
- Sega Amusements Tout Go Go Ducky Redemption Game Ahead Of IAAPA.
- Bay Tek’s IAAPA 2026 Line-Up Revealed.
- New Render For Resident Evil 2: Arcade.
- M2 Launch Shottriggers On Sega APM3.
- exA-Arcadia Has A New Events Page.
Home entertainment and retro news
- Want To Subject Yourself To Some Mind Punishment? The ’94 Street Fighter Movie Is Available For Free with advertising on Pluto TV. A $3 Rifftrax commentary track is also available.
- It Appears That Actors Patrick Stewart & Kyle MacLachlan Enjoyed Some Arcade Gaming While Filming DUNE (1984).
- BioWare Shuts Down after EA announced 400 job cuts.
- Pricing On The Next Gen Of Consoles Is Crazy, although Nintendo has so far been excepted from the same criticism.
- The Atari VCS Is Dead as support for the system is withdrawn.
- Ten New Physical Games Available For Retro Systems At AtariAge.
- The Vectrex Mini Is Launching Next Month, With A Special Event In London.
From competitive shooters and rhythm games to redemption machines, pinball and home gaming news, this round-up shows how broad the arcade scene remains. For readers planning a home setup, RETROCADE’s arcade machine buying guide, arcade light guns and racing simulators provide useful starting points.
Which update stands out most: Big Buck Hunter’s historic championship result, the Minecraft expansion, Penlalive’s new saving system or the IAAPA announcements?
Leave a Reply