It’s been a little while since we last had a story about arcade games on location test, though that doesn’t always mean we haven’t heard about any out there behind the scenes. Today’s two are an example of that, as they were testing last month, but only now are they receiving a post. This isn’t the first time this has happened – we have held off on reporting other tests before for a number of reasons, including there not being enough information or media available of them, or the wishes of the companies involved for the tests to remain less publicized whilst they are ongoing.
These two titles come from Bandai Namco, who have recently tested a couple of games that get plenty of interest. Interestingly, both have appeared at the locations they were placed at before in late 2025, continuing the trend of them putting their releases through rigorous tests. Thanks to Ted for giving the heads up and information on these, plus Light Gun Fanatics and Nome for the photos.
Resident Evil 2: Arcade (US)
First up, the lightgun shooting game based on Capcom’s survival horror that probably attracted the most attention last year when we revealed it had gone on test in the UK: Resident Evil 2: Arcade. Since that time it has had quite the journey, with further location tests in the US and Japan, and it recently came back to the States at the same Round1USA location it had been seen at last November. This may strike some as unusually long, but as mentioned above, Bandai Namco have been taking that extended route in testing most arcade games of theirs during recent times (they did much the same with GoldStorm Pirates, which first appeared on test in 2023 nearly two years before its release).
In terms of the state of the game content available on this test, it seems as if it has used the newest software that was seen on the last Japanese tests back in the Spring, with all five stages finally available to play rather than just the initial two seen on the first UK and US appearances. Hardware-wise, though we had been told in advance that the test would be for the “US version of the cabinet”, this looks much the same as before, give or take a minor cosmetic difference or two. There is still a little time for more changes to be made before it launches, however it would be surprising if that did happen by now.
When Resident Evil 2: Arcade will be released is still yet to be 100% confirmed, but the last word was that it would come in late 2026; failing that, early 2027. Either way, it’s looking set to be one of the biggest games appearing at IAAPA 2026 this November (where we will have lots of coverage as usual), and likely Japan’s Amusement Expo to boot. If we hear anything more about it before then, we’ll be sure to report.
Taiko No Tatsujin (UK)
Whilst Resident Evil 2: Arcade is still to release, here we have a test for an existing game that Bandai Namco have been pushing heavily on the international stage of late (and is now potentially commencing its second phase of that in Europe), Taiko No Tatsujin. Like RE2 though, this has gone on test at the same location that it was at in late 2025; this test was only mentioned in passing during a Newsbytes, due to the fact that Bandai Namco preferred it to be kept quiet, and seemingly nobody found where the cabinet was anyway. We did hear some months later that this test apparently went poorly… but they have clearly not given up on it entirely, as this new test held in recent weeks proves.
In what may be a surprise to some, this cabinet does have online connectivity, although it is worth pointing out how some games have been tested with network features enabled in Europe before, only to then release without them (e.g. Dance Dance Revolution). Less unexpectedly, Bandai Namco have been placing the game at one of their UK ‘Namco Funscape’ FEC locations – a chain that has been recently revealed by them to be soon receiving a full rebrand to simply ‘Namco’, bringing them in line with those they have out in Japan and Asia. Could a rollout of games like Taiko be part of that? Who knows…
That wraps up this look at Resident Evil 2: Arcade and Taiko No Tatsujin‘s latest US and UK appearances. Thanks once again to those who grabbed the photos of these and gave permission for them to be used; if any readers have found a new game out on trial in the wild, we’re always happy to feature them on the site if possible. Which of these two Bandai Namco games on test last month interest you the most?
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