Just rumors and speculation at this point.

Hopefully we will see something at expo.

Looks like Ron is hiring a new Game Developer, and he got almost 3 dozen resumes in the last 24 hours to this job posting whcih is now closed! This is a good sign that they may have turned 'some corner'.

The job was posted as follows:

Role Description

This is a full-time on-site position for a Pinball Game Developer based in Palatine, IL. The Pinball Game Developer will be responsible for programming game mechanics, designing and implementing unique gameplay experiences, and ensuring an engaging and smooth user experience. This role involves collaborating closely with artists, sound designers, and other developers to bring pinball games to life. Additional responsibilities include testing, debugging, and optimizing game performance to meet quality standards.

Qualifications

Experience in Game Development, including hands-on work with game engines and programming languages
Strong understanding of Physics Simulations and Game Design principles
Skills in Visual Effects, Sound Design, and User Interface Integration
Proficiency in Debugging, Optimization, and Code Review
Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment and communicate ideas effectively
Previous experience in pinball, arcade, or simulation games is a plus
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Game Development, or a related field
Passion for gaming and understanding of pinball mechanics and history is highly desirable

36 people applied for a job with them even after their track record the last 3+ years?

No way in hell would I apply for that job unless I was a local, even then probably not. Hope the new guy doesn't get burned too.

"Willing to not be paid" wasn't one of the stated qualifications, but given AP's string of unpaid contractors and ex-employees, is absolutely a qualification.

That’s a lot of shoes to fill…

IMG_2456 (resized).jpeg

so they just now got to replacing the one who went to spooky?

Seems crazy they are hiring so many people considering plenty of people in this thread said they would be closing up shop.

Now hiring---- EVERYONE!!

In all serious though, this is great. Looking forward to seeing what they have up their sleeve.

When they let their company trademark lapse and they're being sued for non-payment by contractors and not paying ex-employees, it's an easy conclusion to reach.

The American Pinball trademark is STILL not renewed as of today, so maybe this push is a little premature? The trademark's been dead for a couple months shy of a YEAR now - and it's not DEAD/ABANDONED like many of their game trademarks, the AP trademark is DEAD/CANCELED. Seems like they'd want to get their legal house in order before they went blazing back in with another poorly executed plan.

AP_trademark (resized).jpg

Weirdly, the Oktoberfest pinball trademark is still alive. Legends of Valhalla, too, but RIOT owns that, so not unexpected.

Tech has been hit hard they will have plenty of applicants even if they are not a great company to work for…

There are lots of bad companies people work for … until something better comes along.

Next game announcement: Oktoberfest Remastered!

Honestly, I think with just a bit more polish they could have a moderate hit with GTF. It's weird that they abandoned that trademark and kept the trademark for oktoberfest. But then again, maybe they CAN'T make more GTF because of the legal issues with the payments they stiffed to Nordman and others.

EDIT: It looks like they may have settled with Wingding over the development/licensing fees for GTF. Wingding asked for the case to be closed voluntarily last March, almost 4 months after it was filed. And the filing by the court was "with prejudice" meaning it's done and over.

Couldn’t help but notice they are also looking for a “game designer”.

The job market (especially in tech) is a complete disaster right now. AP is going to get flooded with resumes for all these positions, fully qualified or not.

Friend of mine who works in city government told me about 5 call center jobs that opened up and they received over 250 applications for the position. It wasn’t even a desirable high paying job, but yeah, things are just brutal right now.

Poorly executed plans is what they do best

I saw this listed on their FB page...depending on how they are structured/pay their associates they are most likely in violation of Illinois employment law by not listing a compensation range for each position and any other forms of comp: bonus, PTO, benefits, ect... That is assuming they are paid via Amitron and more than 15 associates between all their entities.

But then again, if they don't pay their associates... IT is accurate and maybe not a violation LOL

There are a lot of great homebrew game designers out there that could apply. Mudflaps being one of them. Big Trouble in Little China and Friday the 13th were excellent and need to be made.

I would be one of the 1st in line to buy Friday the 13th . I grew up on Michael Meyers and Jason Voorhees!

Yeah, and the guy that made the Sonic homebrew. They should get him.

Sherlock Holmes is in public domain, weren't they considering that for a game before they went with Houdini? That could still work well for pinball I think.

Other decent options:

The Island of Dr. Moreau

Robin Hood

King Arthur

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Frankenstein’s Monster

They pretty much did list the benefits.

I remember fondly that first year end bonus, the year we shocked pinball with Houdini in record time. A box of chocolates dropped off by the receptionist and then a few weeks I realized my paycheck had an extra $200 — really showed how much they appreciated all of the 12+ hour days and weekends.

To be fair, they do give 2 weeks vacation. But few if any get health insurance.

Hopefully anyone interested does a bit of googling so they know what they are walking into.

I know these are difficult times, which I’m sure they will leverage, but may god help anyone they hire.

As far as Sherlock, that was our plan B for Balcer’s last layout, that we were hoping to get a license for. Then Fix came on board, shelved that layout/game as he wanted to do GTF, which he believed was going to be huge. He was even planning a prequel and wanted us to film the actors for both games and talked about licensing the rights to a movie studio.

THIS!

Brutal where? You don't have your city, state or country listed with your avatar. Makes it very difficult to do any comparisons without that information. I've written many times on Pinside encouraging people to list their location because it makes a world of difference when you are sizing things up. Where I live, it is not brutal at this time. Plenty of jobs, mostly in small manufacturing.

part of your pay the number listed is free pinball games (valued at full MSPR)

No cash bonus would be less insulting than $200.

I doubt anyone got a free pinball machine that worked at or for AP.

It was kind of an joke
more of an way to list an higher pay then it really is (we give an game that has been sitting in an box for an longtime) but we value it at full MSPR and add the to base number to get the listed number.

Amazing insight here.....Thank you for sharing. I know the community was hard on David Fix but with some of the decisions he made above (we should have been even harder on him). Good grief he was not good for this company.

He was already employed with them and was designing the Cuphead game for AP. I don’t think Ryan is with AP anymore though.

I thought my location was already listed on my profile, but I live in California, specifically around the San Francisco Bay Area. That crazy demented place where you need to be pulling in a good six figures to even survive…

My friend had almost all the american games in his collection, wisely he sold them all, he took a huge loss on all of them but not as bad as it would be now. There is not a chance AP is ever producing or selling another game. They had their chance to make money during covid inflation and couldn't do it, it will be an even bigger disaster if they try now, this is all smoke and mirrors, Go ahead AP prove me wrong!

The rumor is at least part of the settlement with Wingding that got the lawsuit closed last year was giving them some of the NIB GTF machines built and sitting around to pay them off. So, it sorta DID happen.

Allegedly.

My father after he retired from his regular job, went to work selling cars because he got bored. Anyway, it was a small dealership where the average salesman might sell 10 cars a month. Anyway they were bought out buy a bigger multi car dealership. My father set a record there the first month and sold 70 cars. (My father could sell ice cubes to Eskimos). They had a big meeting and honored him and gave him a $20.00 bonus for all his hard work. He laughed and told them to keep the money, and quit and never went back. So yes you can get a worse bonus, which is sad.

They can absolutely make another run at doing it, but with all this history, will there be enough people willing to take the gamble to make it work?

I was somewhat recently let go from my job after 13 years of loyal service, after all the horror stories I've heard both publicly and privately about life at AP...... yeah I will not be sending in my resume

My brother is a retired doctor. He spent most of his career at one of the major health care organizations. To honor a certain number of years (can't recall the number, but it was a lot), he got a pin with a letter that proudly announced that the pin included a "genuine imitation diamond chip." You have to read that twice to fully appreciate the sheer stupidity of it. It came with a certificate of appreciation in one of those soft plastic envelopes, with instructions on how to bend the envelope to create a frame for the certificate.

They'd give the person a catalog of gifts to choose from. If you were a doctor with 10 years of service, you could choose a 2-slice toaster, but if you had 15 years, you could get the 4-slice one.

He told them it would be less insulting not to offer gifts at all.

I was laid off recently too! I'm overqualified for their Final Testing QA position, but yeah, after what I've heard, would rather just collect unemployment. At least I know those checks will arrive.