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The Stinger Report #1258 - Orlando Entertainment Extravaganza! - Part 5
Leading investors should note key industry shifts from IAAPA 2025, reflecting a dynamic amusement landscape heading into 2026. Trends include the rise of two-seater and hybrid attractions, increased licensing collaborations, and a surge in shooting and AI-driven robotics, exemplified by autonomous service robots and innovative escape rooms. Rising costs, driven by RAM shortages and supply chain pressures, threaten margins across hardware and consumer sectors. Social media influence is reshaping marketing and experiential engagement, exemplified by influencer-backed projects like MrBeast’s Beast Land. With industry consolidation and expansion plans, including IAAPA’s move to the West Hall in 2026, these developments signal a transformative period with significant growth opportunities and evolving risk factors.
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This is the Stinger Report, issue number 1258, Orlando Entertainment Extravaganza. Part 5 by Kevin Williams. We continue our extensive coverage of the Orlando Amusement and Attraction Trade Extravaganza. This concluding coverage looks at the wider amusement landscape reflected on the show floor and the developments and key trends from the overall show Shaping the Thinking for 2026. Orlando's IAAPA, Amusement Landscape. Unis Technology came to IA Upper 2025 after a hectic 2025 season of exhibitions and new developments. On display were new releases from their Chinese operation, such as MonsterCart DLX in a two-player network and Monster At Riders in a standing racer configuration. Next to this was TurboNova Deluxe Motion Racer, along with Neon Rush Ride-on-Motion Bike Racer. Player One Amusement Group, P1AG, marked the appearance of the company following its acquisition and assimilation into GENDA Americas. Along with representing third-party products, the booth also included an example of the Kiddleton Self-Service Crane platform. The company also represented the new startup Blue Motion Games, with the new two-player version of their desert chase shooting motion seat experience. The creation of a two-seater variant seems a common trend, as having been seen from Triotech. They also showed their new amusement, Candy Ball. Moving round the show, an Andamiro USA announced a surprise new entrant to the list of licensed videos with Nickelodeon cart racing arcade, not shown at the exhibition. A racer able to select from Spongebob and 27 others of his Nickelodeon animated friends. The game is based on the consumer title developed by GameMill, but was redeveloped by affiliated studio Team Infinity. Another release based on the Paramount's 46-year-old entertainment brand for children, Nickelodeon on display at the show was Spongebob Swish, a redemption amusement. Andro was involved in licensing the Nickelodeon range of properties, including their Spongebob SquarePants Bubble Coaster, VR property, made in partnership with Relix. On display this year, the company had the VR Coaster system, now with the updated software The Ghost Coaster, offering a new experience for the same platform. Also on the booth was more Chinese third-party representation and another Superwing animation technology game, Andamiro USA representing Marksman, a two-player shooter, the latest in a current slew of shooting gallery metal or plastic recoil weapon games. This one of the gallery shooters using pneumatic recoil. No word if Andamiro will represent the Marksman Max, four-player version of the game in the States. Finally, the music game scene was represented with a Pump It Up Phoenix 2024 Deluxe dancing stage machine. The team at Andamiro revealed that 2026 will see news of an update to the Pump It Up series with a new machine and relaunch of the series. The current series has seen 20 updates over its two-year release. The final update expected to see in the new year a tease of the new release, codenamed Phoenix 2. The music game scene was well represented at this year's IA APA, and could not be ignored by amusement distributors and operators. The news of a new pump it up system coming for next year as Konami looks to return to the Western amusement scene. It was surprising to not see them make an appearance at IAPA 25, though well-placed sources say we can expect to hear more about their plans linked to the start of 2026 and the amusement expo buildup. Shooting games seemed to be the biggest video game trend at the show, and Jet Games had a varied selection. First off was GigaShot, the latest in the series of shooting gallery games. This latest version includes a new design weapon and major more pneumatic recoil action along with a fun shooting game experience. The big surprise new video release on the Jet Booth was GI Joe, developed in partnership with Chinese-based Leon Amusement, who Jet have a full-time staffer at their operation. The game was previously reported in our GTI 25 coverage on the Flamestone Amusement booth. This unusual physical mounted recoiling cannon prop cabinet obviously draws interest. The IAAPA25 show units were running the previously seen Flamestone Canon content. JET were finalizing software approval with Hasbro for the actual GI Joe game content for the Western market, which will be released in the spring in time for Amusement Expo. Continuing round the Orlando show floor, and exhibitor Alan One was showing at IAAPA25 their latest offerings, with the big licensing of Liquid Death and Dr. Pepper Soda Slam. Building upon their Soda Slam product in a pair of new branded games, the company also had the Atari license properties, Missile Command Recharged and Gravitar Recharged, which were joined by the relaunch of another Atari property. The Atari Pong Mechanical Coffee Table, the previously released physical recreation of the classic video game coming back for home use, with a commercial coin op version aimed for 2026. It was interesting to see the title represented across the show, also on the Pixel Games booth as part of their new floor experience. With their player cabinet selection, XA Arcadia was present at the event, with their two and four player configuration ARC32 platforms, with over 50 game titles available on the system. The company came to IAPA 25 with the new Hunter X Hunter Nen X Impact Tag Fighter game, this title based on one of the most popular anime series running on Netflix. One of the big surprises from the show in the amusement scene was found on AVS companies. The distributor had worked with developer Dark Escape Games to debut a brand new concept in amusement escape rooms. The company had two examples of their new concept with Clown Around and Pyramid Scheme. These five-minute escape cabinets hold up to three people and offer an array of puzzles that the players must solve in an allotted time, five minutes, to escape space and win. The concept is incredibly compelling and offered a unique entertainment and redemption element with guests winning tickets. The pre-production units have performed well in trials and scheduled to start shipping Q1 and a third sci-fi-themed cabinet in development. This platform was seen by many as a strong concept for the show and promoted the interest in escape gaming prevalent on the floor this year. A company that sits astride the amusement and hospitality scene is Incredible Technologies, and they came to the Orlando show with a brand new platform. The new Silver Strike offers a bowling trackball game, building off the predecessor title, but now totally redeveloped on the Unity engine and offering a new large portrait screen, enhanced gameplay and graphics, and familiar controls. The game developed to offer tournament competition and fit into the established genre seen with the successful Golden Tea Golf series. Shown in a production prototype format on several distributor booths at the show, the full release is expected for an amusement expo launch in 2026. Pinball was represented at the show from Stern Pinball and Jersey Jack Pinball, along with the latest tables based on popular franchises. It was confirmed to us that last year's Game of the Show Twee 4 selection by the Stinger Report, the Pinball XP system, though not at the show, was still being sold as a package by Creative Solutions and co-developer Diverted River. Not at the show, the company speculating that the high price has impacted its rollout, though they are still working on the application of Redemption Pinball. Regarding the perfusion of Asian, mainly Chinese, amusement exhibited, and the key operations made the effort to show at the US event. Leading the charge was Warlap Technologies with a slew of new titles such as StormRacer 2, the Portrait Large Screen Motion Seat Racer offering a four-player network, along with the ride-on-bike series Asphalt Moto Blitz DX. Continuing the trend at IAAPA25 for shooter videos, they also had their new Phantom Vanguard part of the modern combat series from developers GameLoft and IGS. This game has a unique mounted and unmounted gun system that offered a new twist of the shooting action, a game offering strong time crisis vibes. Another shooter on display was the four-player Kaiju Rampage Unite, part of the World of Monsters Eye series by IGS. Wallop also presented examples of their third-party representation with MyMai DX and Taiko no Tatsu-jin. Ace Amusement returned to the US trade event with a selection of their latest releases, such as their Racing Extreme Deluxe Street Racer, Biker's Madness Ride on Motion Motorcycle Racer, and the twin-player motion shooter Dragon Kingdom, along with other previously seen releases. Super Wing Animation Technology, along with having products on the BNA booth, also had the originals on their own booth, with their Skywalk 2 Jet Fighter Action Amusement and Flash Rider 2 Motorbike Racer. Next to these were the environmental cabinet shooter MiniWorld, a game that offers a Minecraft-aspired blaster aimed at a young audience. The game was also available in a water screen shooter variant. Other companies like Epark Game Machines showed their Super Robinson mounted piratical shooter, the four-player with motion seats. One of the big talking points of the show from the amusement standpoint was the appearance of Apple Industry's new product line, the FacePlace Card Creator, is a unique patent pending photo booth experience that creates themed IDs for the user. These included custom driving licenses for go-kart venues and NASA Space IDs. The products line also includes licensed versions, such as collectible IDs based on the ever-popular Star Wars franchise, as well as Disney cars. This souvenir collectible, which can be themed and customized for any venue, attracted tremendous interest from operators as a new incremental revenue opportunity. Another exhibitor at IAAPA25, presenting a new generation of photo booths, was Digital Center showing their new premium photo booth range, refining the cabinet and operational design. One of the most obvious trends on the IAAPA25 floor was the continued explosion in new wave crane and claw machines. Chinese and Western manufacturers' booths replete with new products. Some suggested that the Western scene came late to embracing the move towards the new clawcade business, trying to continue to sell the traditional designs. As if to answer this, exhibitor L Out had at the show a special inflatable private access booth to preview what they call their e-Claw 2.0 platform. For those able to view the new concept, they were greeted with a sleek design, encapsulating smart controls and remote operator support. E.L.out, hoping that this pivot to creating a line of new wave claw machines will ensure their place at the table. Impact of rising costs. While many delegates to the Orlando show may have been fixated on the impact of tariffs on the price of machines, there was another major impact to the price of hardware on the horizon. It was revealed that the price of random access memory, RAM storage, had risen considerably, as a shortage of the memory essential to computers was felt. This shortage and increased pricing, fueled in part by the needs of the exploding AI server farm business. This has seen console video game manufacturers looking at price hikes of their platforms, such as Microsoft and their Xbox platform. Even the newly revealed Valve Steam Machine Gaming PC platform has reversed on previous speculation that it was going to be a cheap alternative to console gaming. That these shortages will impact the consumer video game sector is obvious. It also needs to be considered how much this will impact commercial gaming, autonomous and AI. One of those trends that is growing exponentially is the application of robotics and autonomous devices, supported by AI and machine learning. Previously reported concepts from DOF Robotics in this scene with their AI photo booth, along with several POS software platforms including AI Support, were in attendance. New concepts employing this tech on the show floor of IAAPA25 included Suite Robo, who deployed a robot vending amusement. This included the new Cotton Candy platform, while PhotoMaster showed their Draw Me Bot Autonomous Art Creation Robot, creating drawn pictures based on collected images. As we covered in earlier show reporting, LED lighting specialist Ventola projects showcase its LED displays, A V integration systems, and AI engagement kiosks. Back-of-house autonomous platform support saw exhibitors Bullmark Robotic and Robot A B presenting their range of robots for service and customer support, including the new cleaning robots, the company promoting the leasing deals for these systems. One of the impressive applications of this tech was with drone shows, and at the end of the evening during IAPA 25, the organizers arranged a drone show utilizing the latest technology, underpinning the popularity and presentation of this application against traditional firework displays. Away from the IAAPA 25 show and autonomous platforms were seeing greater deployment. Las Vegas Entertainment venue Area 15 announced an agreement with ZoOx, the operation owned by Amazon that has developed the Robo Taxi. The autonomous taxi platform will offer a shuttle service from local hotel resorts to the Area 15 Entertainment Hub. This is one of the first entertainment venues to ink an agreement to include autonomous transportation, and it is expected that theme parks and other resorts will be undertaking their own experimentation in this space. This was also followed with robots in Leisure Entertainment seen at Hertfordshire Zoo. Their new little dinos are state-of-the-art, fully animatronic robots that move freely throughout the zoo at set intervals, engaging with the public and creating spontaneous, memorable moments. Social media. A new aspect to our coverage is the influence that social media is having on the location-based entertainment industry, as reflected on the IAAPA 25 show floor. For the last few years of the post-COVID show organization, the media sector of the show has dwindled towards a more influencers and social media coverage perspective. Many of the traditional access media superseded by YouTubers, TikTokers, and social influencers covering the theme park sector. The scrum round the media unveiling of the latest coaster cars on respective booths, raising questions on the scope and value of the invited media. One interesting development prior to the Orlando Expo was the announcement of the opening in Saudi Arabia of Beast Land. The new theme park was launched by YouTuber Mr. Beast and is inspired by the celebrities' videos depicting many elements from them. The site also was reported to have the world's largest prize wall, along with other specialized attractions. The venue is, however, a temporary installation part of the Riyadh season planned to be open from November till the end of December. This reported as a first of its kind and hoped to address the black eye the Mr. Beast brand had suffered with their failed Mr. Beast experience in Las Vegas earlier in the year. Originally planned to be held within the Resort World Casino Hotel, was abandoned with participants demanding refunds. The new Beast Land installation, an example of how social influencers look to establish their brands outside of the media. In conclusion, what was labeled by some the 108th IAPA Expo was a rite of passage for some, but a major line in the sand for others. A point where the market was seen to have changed and would never be able to go back. Clearly, the ghosts of COVID restrictions and the lockdown had been excised from the trade. 2025 marked a period in the location-based amusement attraction industry of massive numbers of new openings. But did the Orlando show floor reflect an industry in the sun? The show organizers had promoted some 40,000 attendees, but the reality fell short to 38,520 verified attendees from 43,840 registered participants. The event reporting 28,598 qualified buyers. Last year's show had reported verified attendance on 37,06 from their 41,429 registrants. The numbers reflected an increase, though the actual increase seemed labored. Comments regarding the high number of children and younger attendees boosting the numbers. And not just the last day of the show, but all week long. Another impact on expected numbers was the unspoken drop in international visitors. While a surprise spike in Chinese exhibitors, attendees from other countries seemed impacted. This was also reflected across Florida, seeing a drop in international visitation, especially the drop in snowbirds, autumn Canadian tourism, mirroring a drop-off in international tourism across the USA. Overall, the exhibitors were happy with a positive mood, even if swamped by younger non-buyers. But a lot of eyes now turned to a hectic 2026 season, not helped by changes across the exhibition sector and the current economic conditions internationally. Next year's New Look. With the ending of IAAP A25, show organizers circulated information on the new plans for the 2026 event. Along with changing up the marketing and presentation, the big move was the much-rumored expansion to the West Hall. The fine details were still veiled in secrecy as hard negotiation was underway to work out which exhibitors and pavilions that would be relocated into the West Hall and which would remain in the North South Hall. Speaking to veteran exhibitors during the show, it was clear that moving to the West Hall was a contentious relocation, even with the promise of regular coach service between the two key halls during the event. The previous tented outcrop for IAPA Overflow hopes to be replaced by expanding into the West Hall. Also, with this extra space, there should be no excuse for the backlog of hopeful exhibitors. We wait with some interest for an official map of the allocation of space at the show and planned movements, sooner than later. Overall, 2026 is looking to be a very expensive exhibition show year. With the addition of a new MENA show and the European IAAPA moving to London, this along with the economic conditions impacting the prices expected and services, we will monitor these conditions very closely.
