Co-founder of Dutch Pinball Exclusive (DPX), Melvin Brouwer-Williams, has parted company with Dutch Pinball, ending any immediate plans to build the Retro Atomic Zombie Adventureland (RAZA) game.
DPX is a joint venture between Melvin and Dutch Pinball, using Melvin’s designs and intellectual property with the game built by Dutch Pinball at their factory in Herkenbosch in the Netherlands. DPX launched their first title, Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, in October 2024, and are still building the game which has a limited run of 500 units.
Melvin has stated that the split won’t impact on the build of the outstanding Alice machines, and that code updates will continue. However, he does warn that those updates might take longer now that there are fewer development resources available.
RAZA was to be the second DPX title with development nearly complete, using much of the design work undertaken by Deeproot Pinball before that company collapsed into bankruptcy. Deeproot’s game was itself based on an original John Popadiuk design for his Zidware company. Melvin purchased the rights to the Zidware intellectual property, as well as the physical assets we reported on in December 2022.
Following Deeproot Pinball’s collapse, Melvin purchased the rights to the games they had in development, giving him ownership of RAZA and Magic Girl too. He wasn’t planning to remake Magic Girl, as there are already several games in circulation and he thought the design would need considerable changes to make it fun to play and possible to manufacture in quantity.
In a statement issued last night, Melvin hinted at troubled relations between himself and Dutch Pinball. It was clear he had been unhappy at the speed and quality of Dutch Pinball’s manufacturing of the Alice game and its associated topper for some time but, with RAZA poised to be announced next month, it appears the involvement of a new investor in Dutch Pinball has now brought matters to a head.
Here’s what Melvin had to say in his statement.
| Amsterdam, The Netherlands Februari 9, 2026 Dear all, It is with a heavy heart that I have to announce that, effective as of today, I Melvin Brouwer-Williams will be stepping away from DPX (Dutch Pinball Exclusive) . This decision is an unfortunate result of a new organizational structure within Dutch Pinball and also because of a new investors party that have a different vision then me. Therefore Dutch Pinball has decided that it will be continuing on its own path without my involvement. I fully understand that this announcement may raise many questions…. And at this moment, I do not yet have all the answers myself, and I must admit that this transition leaves me feeling somewhat uncertain. As many may know my next game was on its scheduled to be released. Nevertheless, I remain confident in the future of the pinball industry and in my own continued journey within it ,unfortunately that won’t be with the Dutch Pinball family .DPX will be defunct as of today for upcoming releases from my involvement. I tried my best to build the brand to certain point that I now can no longer control to my standards. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere and heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has supported and believed in me and in Alice throughout this journey. Your trust, encouragement, and shared passion have meant more to me than words can adequately express. I’m heartbroken that it came to this point as I also expected many more things to come from the DPX brand. While this chapter comes to a close, my commitment to pinball does NOT. I have to look forward in my own way to see what the future holds and hope our pinball paths in the community may cross again, as my plan with my upcoming game/games will have to shift to other MFG party’s in the USA when that possibility arrives. Rest assure that I will still do my best to help where ever needed on Alice. Although that will be through community contacts,forums,etc. Code updates will be a bit slower at times but rest assure it won’t be forgotten. As I have my own team (coders,Lior,tech and other great people) that will move with me and will handle upcoming projects with me . As alice and the planned game that was announced and other titles are my own IP and or design. I expect that Dutch Pinball will take care of there customers with the promises that where made and build all the final Alice’s and solve the outstanding topper related issues . This was unfortunately never in my control , nor some of the other structural issues that many are aware off. As you also might understand by now that some situations may have lead to this outcome I present today. Any questions regarding AAIW and or this writing please contact your local distributor and or dutch pinball support to keep this separation as professional as possible. With sincere thanks and respect, Melvin Brouwer-Williams |
From that statement it appears Dutch Pinball Exclusive isn’t necessarily finished as a Dutch Pinball sub-brand, but that Melvin won’t have any further involvement in their designs or manufacturing.
We’ll bring you more updates on this news as soon as we get it, right here at Pinball News.
