Within the semi-slow news cycle out of this past summer, we did hear about Utah-based Alan-1 when they brought two new games to the California Extreme event. They’ve been relatively quiet since, but now with IAAPA 2026 approaching fast, they have unveiled some of their new game line-up that will be at the show. Let’s take a look.
Note that this has been updated with some additional information, as provided by Alan-1.
Turbo Curling: Arctic Rush
While Alan-1 has made a name for themselves in producing retro remakes for arcades (two of which we’ll get into down below), they also have occasionally done something different. Their Butts On Things cranes was certainly the biggest departure from that realm, and the Soda Slam series was also more contemporary. They are now continuing this path with Turbo Curling: Arctic Rush and a few other redemption games.
We first learned of this effort from an advert you can find in the October 2026 issue of RePlay Magazine; this is the only product mentioned in the entire magazine that we had not heard of previously. Ted also brought up that he saw this game in a different guise on a Chinese company’s booth at IAAPA Expo Europe last month, so it looks like Alan-1 has licensed and rebranded it for US sales.
Here’s that original Chinese version of the game, although we now know that the Alan-1 version differs in several ways beyond the cabinet branding. More detail on that below.
According to Alan-1, their version features “AI-assisted artwork, creatively led by our creative director Warren Stanek” as well as the following changes:
- Alan-1 have created a “red vs. blue” rivalry in the Mammoths Vs. the Ice Bears, respectively. Each team’s identities carry through their emblems, player uniforms, interface, waiting screens, and results presentation. The turn-taking and victory presentation reinforce the head-to-head dynamic throughout the play experience.
- The playfield presentation now incorporates enhanced curling terms such as the “hog line” and the “button,” which were missing from the original Chinese version. They’ve also introduced an Alan-1 Sports logo that players will see at center ice and through in-game advertisements around the arena. They’ve done this to give the game its own personality, while helping players become familiar with the sport.
- Something that I missed in the gameplay demo that you see below was the yelling and teamwork sounds they have added. In real curling, shouted calls are part of how the team communicates. “Hurry!” and “Hard!” tell the sweepers to sweep, while “Whoa!” tells them to stop. That part of curling was missing from the original game, which now has a contextual yelling system with male and female voices and different levels of intensity. These calls are dynamically based on the stone’s speed, direction, curl, distance, and projected stopping position, so the characters react to the shot as it develops.
- The original music has been replaced with rock tracks inspired by Canadian bands, in a nod to curling’s popularity in Canada. They also supplied new announcer dialogue from the Alan-1 team, along with new sound effects for selection, sweeping, and stone movement, in addition to the proper dialogue mentioned above.
- The scoring presentation has been revised to highlight the result of each throw, now with animated point totals instead of static ones. In the words of Alan-1 again, “This makes successful shots easier to understand and more satisfying to watch”.
- Finally, they have simplified the Solo/VS wording, replaced generic player labels with team icons, enlarged instructional graphics, and refined the Aim, Throw, and Sweep guidance. Warren also created new photo-pose artwork and the “Strike Your Curling Pose” presentation, along with coordinated score and replay visuals.
Then James at Alan-1 added: “Our engineering team has also contributed cabinet improvements in three areas: the stone-return design, marquee durability and protection, and cabinet assembly and service access. Those improvements are focused on making the machine more reliable, durable, and practical for operators”.
As you can also see from the cabinet image, it comes with two player stations, each of which has three sets of controls: the sliding “stone” (as they are called), which will turn into a virtual version on screen, a single button which is used for the sweeping portion to get the stone to the goal, then two arrow buttons for adjusting your direction, as your goal is to get the stone to stop in the center of the goal target. The game can be played for fun or for tickets.
Breakout Recharged Infinity
Another prototype I saw while visiting Area 52 was this Breakout Recharged Infinity game, although I refrained from saying anything about it in the original post as it wasn’t completely put together yet and didn’t have any confirmation about it. That’s changed, so we can now reveal that Alan-1 and UNIS have worked together to put a giant version of the arcade enhanced version of Breakout Recharged. This has the “Infinity” addition to the end, as there are some changes that have been added to make this stand out from the existing versions of the game, although that is not yet reflected on the marquee per this render (what I saw didn’t have the marquee attached to it yet, which was wrapped up).
It’s hard to tell from the render, but this uses the rare bi-optic version of the Pepper’s Ghost Effect to create a 3D-like appearance. If that sounds like I’m spouting gibberish, what that means is they are overlaying two monitors over each other – one that is mounted to the back for one layer of graphics, then the other monitor is mounted in the top of the game and is reflected off of a giant piece of glass for the other layer. This is the largest use of PGE ever done in arcades.
One other feature that will be unique to this is it will feature a card dispenser. These cards are only for collecting and do not affect the gameplay, so if the feature is turned off, then it doesn’t prevent anyone from playing. The exact number of cards is unknown, but as it says here, there are “hundreds” to collect, which will be based on Atari IP. Where the company now owns Mattel Intellivision, Stern Electronics, and other IP like Roller Coaster Tycoon, they can easily reach over 200.
Ring Pop Drop & Warheads Extreme Sour
If you’re looking for more redemption content, then that’s not all from Alan-1 (although all of the Recharged games do have the option). They have licensed two candy brands in rebranding a couple of other games, both from Leon Amusement, now as Ring Pop Drop and Warheads Extreme Sour, respectively.
Ring Pop Drop is a single-button target stopping game (like a smaller version of ICE’s Stop The Drop), where the falling device looks like a ring pop that you have to stop on the best ticket value to win.
Warheads Extreme Sour is kind of a new interpretation of Taito’s Zeke’s Peak. There is a real ball on a level that is controlled by the giant steering wheel, where you want to keep it moving through the like-colored digital warhead candies on the screen to try and reach the top. As some redemption counters offer these candies in exchange for tickets, this provides a direct tie-in. Neither game appears to have a vending option for the candies, but perhaps such a feature could be added to a new model down the road. These have not yet been promoted on their socials, but it is showing on their IAAPA Exhibitor page and will be at the show.
Note that there is one other videmption game that they will bring to the show, but that will be announced next month.
Quantum & Black Widow Recharged Available For Pre-Order
The aforementioned Atari Recharged games that first appeared at CAX 2026 are now available for pre-order, almost completing the Recharged range of console-to-arcade releases, with just Centipede and Berzerk being left. No fully built machine for either of these was available when I made my visit (a Quantum was being wrapped for shipping; a Black Widow was being wired up), so I’m using Alan-1’s photos below.
Quantum Recharged
Quantum is one of Atari’s most obscure games, having been released in November 1982. This was within the beginning months of the market crash at the time, which did start before E.T. was released. Being a vector game powered by a Motorola 68000, it was able to present a fast gameplay style and look that couldn’t have done with a raster monitor, and it was completely original (the review below mentions that it’s sorta like Taito’s Qix, which the Recharged version is closer to that than the original was) but operators were pretty much done with the tech by that point and this reportedly sold around 500 units or less. Because it was a vector game and it flopped, it never received any “back-in-the-day” ports or sequels, being almost forgotten by time until Atari unexpectedly resurrected it as a part of their Recharged series back in 2021-23.
The basic idea is that you are in the subatomic world and you need to “capture” such particles by navigating your drone around the screen, and drawing an enclosed circle around said particles. You used a trackball to accomplish this, which you still do in this Alan-1 version; there also is a new Dash button, power-ups, and the circles/shapes drawn will now draw nearby enemies.
For the new additions, Alan-1 provided the following description: “Our arcade version adds Surge, Quantum Knot boss battles, an Entropy Bomb, and a scoring multiplier based on the size of the loop you create. Waves have their own bonus objectives, repeating on a 13-wave cycle. The game ends at wave 137, a nod to the significance of 137 in quantum physics, and players who complete it are enshrined in the Hall of Champions. These additions give players new challenges, scoring decisions, and a meaningful achievement to work toward.”
I’d note that the scoring multiplier sounds like Qix, which rewarded you for taking the risks of drawing larger areas. It also has their MLeS app support.
Black Widow Recharged
Black Widow is another Atari obscurity that like Quantum saw no ports/sequels back in the day, until the Recharged remakes gave it a new lease on life. It was designed as a conversion kit for the decent seller, but tough-as-nails Gravitar, offering something less esoteric and difficult for players to enjoy. Black Widow was one of the few twin stick shooters that the company would release(the equally obscure Cloak & Dagger being another), but with mechanics like grabbing growing eggs and dropping them into the center of the web/screen, it had a bit of a different flow and feel than Robotron 2084 did. I’m sure controlling spiders didn’t help either.
Alan-1 also updated us on what this has: “We’ve made substantial changes from the console version, including adding spider wasps and challenge waves. A core part of the gameplay is allowing hornets to lay eggs inside trapped mosquitoes for bonus points. That creates interesting choices about when to eliminate enemies and when to let the interaction develop for a greater reward. Our goal is an arcade experience that is more faithful to the original 1982 game, with added depth, variety, and scoring opportunities.”
One weird choice Atari made (not Alan-1) on some of the Recharged versions of their games is that they made some of them that had originally been vector games have a raster look, while making others that were raster games look like vector ones (Missile Command and Centipede doing that). In the case of both Quantum & Black Widow, the mostly went the raster-look route, especially Quantum, although Black Widow is sort of a hybrid.
Both games are available in standard & “Premium 3D” models, the latter using a rare “bi-optic” application of the Pepper’s Ghost Effect that they’ve been using in their “MirrorFX” games. Bi-optic PGE had only been used three times in the past, so already Alan-1 has produced more in that style
As a note, I was playtesting most of these Recharged games and making recommendations for changes in 2025 through the beginning of this year, but in that time the only one I didn’t play at all was Quantum. I also did get to play an early build of the unannounced videmption game, but it looks like that has changed some from the render I was sent.
With the license on the Recharged games coming fast to a close, it’s unknown if they’ll get those last two out in time or not, although in my opinion, both Centipede and Gravitar weren’t essential (Centipede due to Centipede Chaos, Gravitar as it’s just way too esoteric for today’s gaming audience).
Berzerk however deserves to get the arcade treatment. While the console version was panned, fixing up the issues was doable, and done right could easily redeem it’s problems with such a release. I’d advocated for doing a network between cabinets on that one, but I doubt that would be added, as cool is it might have been. Even without it, it would be a great way for them to end the Recharged releases. If it’s at IAAPA though, it would be a big surprise.
Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that Alan-1 has a space in the Inflatables area, right at the front near the SouthEast entrance. As of this writing it is unknown what they will have in that area, whether they’ve got a new line of inflatables going there or if it’s a promo or repeat space for their main booth.
Since originally posting this, Alan-1 did reach out to us and provide some deeper details. There’s also this from the message they sent me, which lays out their strategy going into 2027: “Our plan is to release two Alan-1-developed games each year, supplemented by three or four great games we discover through our Asian partners. A requirement for those partnerships will always be that we’re allowed to modify the software and add Alan-1’s design, engineering, and polish. We want to take games with great potential and make them better suited to our players and operators”.
What do you think of Alan-1’s new arcade games for IAAPA 2026?
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