The Stinger Report #1261 - Europe Amusement Race

 The start of 2026 has already delivered significant insights into the amusement and social entertainment markets, with the UK’s EAG 2026 standing out as a key indicator of emerging trends. The event showcased record-breaking exhibitor participation, highlighting innovations in amusement, VR, and gamified social platforms, including motorbike gaming and interactive shuffleboard. Notably, social entertainment sectors like augmented and projection-based experiences gained momentum, driven by companies such as 501 Fun, Game Volt, and Battleup. The show also underscored the importance of venue operations amid ongoing industry consolidation, with major players like Bandai Namco and Raw Thrills unveiling new titles. Meanwhile, music gaming experienced a resurgence, exemplified by Electrocoin’s debut of the ‘Dance Dance Revolution World’ in Europe. The event's evolving landscape reflects a shift toward immersive, social, and technologically advanced attractions, amid increasing international competition and logistical challenges, setting the stage for a pivotal year ahead in the global amusement industry. 

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Transcript

Setting The Stage: EAG 2026

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This is the Stinger Report, issue number 1261, Europe Amusement Race, by Kevin Williams. The New Year is still wet behind the ears, and already we are deep in developments. Marking the first major trade event of 2026, and we have extensive and exclusive coverage of the inaugural gathering in the UK and the ramifications it raised for the international amusement trade. London Calling. While the New Year had only just started, the exhibition and conference season had already left the starting gates. We have already charted the impact of the CES 26 event, and the dust had hardly settled when we rushed back to the UK and the first major event for the amusement trade. The Entertainment Attractions and Gaming International Expo, EAG 2026, is more colloquially called the London Show and represents a three-in-one event. Comprising the Amusement Trade event, alongside the Social Immersive Entertainment Expo and Casino Gaming Show, all run through the UK Trade Association BACTA. This year, the event gathered 105 exhibitors, a record according to organizers for the EAG format. The EAG event offers a great barometer of the trends that will shape the first part of the year, following on from what was seen at IAAPA the year previously, but also offers a chance to assess the strength of the core aspects of the market. Regarding the amusement aspect and leading the charge was Sega Amusement International, SAI, showing a strong lineup of amusement, redemption, and prize machines. New releases included the first European showing for their third-party support of Speedrider 4DX from IGS, represented by Bandai Namco in North America. Motorbike gaming seemed to be a trend echoed across the show floor. SI partner who shared space on the booth was LAI Games, with examples of their new releases, including the production version of Ubisoft All Stars. Their VR platform looking to rekindle the success of Virtual Rabbids, and next to this was Cyberpunk 2077 Turf War. Sources from LAI Games confirmed that a new software update is planned for the game, which will offer a linear story mode with end-level bosses to the system, away from the current shooting gallery approach. We look forward to trying out this addition to the projection mapped pellet gun game. EAG26 included a special seminar session inaugurated in the name of SAI's CEO, who recently passed an annual session that will hope to teach best practice and technical advice to those in the operations side of the business. One of the new releases on the booth was the partnership between SAI and Good Times Tech, who unveiled their new Neo Shuffle. What the company has described as a tech-infused shuffleboard platform, the touchscreen operated table, this was one of several gamified shuffleboard platforms exhibited at EAG26 and reflected the increased investment on social entertainment platforms at the show, as we will cover later. Another of those shuffleboard takes was presented on the bowling vision booth across in the Social Immersive Entertainment Expo component of the event. Sharing the booth was Shuffly with their interactive shuffleboard. The Bowling Vision booth also had representation of a new gamified accelerated play bowls product and beer pong table. Many exhibitors commented at the impact of the Social Immersive Entertainment Expo component, having grown considerably since first founded by KWP partnership with show organizers. The event was supported by Game Changer This Year, who organized an interesting two-day seminar session on the show floor in support. These including speakers from Roxy, Balas, and Tocker Social, along with others sharing insight in the emergence of the social entertainment business. On the show floor, returning exhibitors to this aspect of the show included 501 Fun with an impressive booth, flanked by their augmented darts platform that has become an industry leader. The company also presented the production version of their new interactive mini golf platform that was debuted at EAG25. Another returning exhibitor was GameVault. The social entertainment powerhouse was showing for the first time their hotshot, two-player shooting game utilizing conductor technology. The pump action shotgun game platform offers a specially curated shooting experience for social gaming environments. The company also promoted their Supercharges Shuffleboard. A newcomer to the show, Battle Up, showed their AR Beer Pong and their AR Darts full projection board platforms, employing gamification to the familiar entertainment. Simway were another returning exhibitor to the social entertainment expo of the EAG event. With their proven projection screen shooting platform, the new kiosk versions of their shootout, two-player platform, and the new Swingit platform. Another shooting experience for the entertainment environment was also presented from new show exhibitor Attack Sense. The golfing game element of social entertainment saw exhibitor social rivals come to the show with their unique projection-mapped mini golf experience. While across the way, 360 golf, powered by Holoviz, were showcasing their high-tech mini golf holes with automated shot counting and digital scoring. New exhibitor QIQ exhibited at the show with a unique smart camera system for pool tables. Returning to the amusement push of EAG26 and Bandai Namco Amusement Europe, BNAE, took their central position on the show floor, with space split between their prize and gashapon business, their third-party representation, and a smattering of their own first-party releases. This representing the largest lineup of BNAE titles in a long time. Raw Thrills had one part of the booth nearly all to themselves, UK attendees getting their first chance to try Top Gun Maverick Arcade and the brand new redemption racer game Jackpot Racer, yet another biking game on the show floor. Third-party representation we saw during IAAPA25 made it over to the London event, with the environmental cabinet Mini World Motion by Chinese developer Super Win. This is sitting next to the other third-party representation for Triotech, with their twin Super Blaster Motion Shooting Game. The importance of venue operation as part of the more conventional amusement mix has grown amongst a number of UK operations. We have already reported on the efforts of SAI to develop their own presence following the acquisition of Funbox and the recent launch of the Urban Fun chain. This has also been seen with BNAE, who are actively updating their Namco Funscape chain of six entertainment venues looking at new branding and focus to stay relevant in a changing market. United Distributing Company, UDC, during EAG 26 representing an extensive line of new releases from a highly illuminated booth. These included the ACE entertainment range of Chinese manufacturers, including the street motorcycle racer Biker's Madness, in a new 2x2 screen configuration new for this year. Also, alongside the new Jet Ski Racer, all offering popular ride-on action with their own motion platforms. A new racer from the Chinese powerhouse was racing X Trim, sporting its own motion base and 2x2 screen setup. A more unique ride-on design from the company was the animal racing game Russian Catch, Racing and Catching Zebras. UDC also reflected the move towards music games coming back into their own, along with the corporation's representation of the Step Revolution line and their new Step Maniacs dancing stage, including new music tracks. UDC also was presenting Dance Show from Chinese developer ARSA, which we reported on in our ACOS 25 coverage. The game having been on location at Play Nation in Bristol and seeing strong popularity. Veteran amusement distributor Electrocoin hoped to drive the music game revolution during EAG 2026, with the latest example of their partnership with veteran Japanese amusement corporation Konami, which saw the successful deployment in the EMEA region, previously of Dance Dance Revolution A20 Plus. Following this, ElectroCoin has been working over the last two years with Konami to develop Dance Dance Revolution World, Universal Cabinet, for the EMEA market. Based on Dance Dance Revolution World, which was launched in Japan in 2024, the brand new Western game comprises a bigger monitor and eye-catching LED illuminated dance pad, marking the anniversary of the dancing stage Revolutionary Amusement Piece, comprising licensed music from blockbuster artists such as Ariadne Grande, Dua Lipa, LMFAO, Porter Robinson, with more to follow. Electrocoin had exclusively air freighted for the London show one of the very first production units of the game, so that show attendees would be the first to see this music game in action. And this proved one of the most popular new amusement releases at the show, with the machine swamped by avid players making the trek to see the new release. This continued the drive towards music game properties into the Western amusement scene. Regarding the rest of the other third-party representation on the Electrocoin booth, included Stern Pinball and a selection of their new pintables such as Venom and The Walking Dead, all supported by the Network Tournament platform. Also represented was Intercard Impulse Tap, the iTeller Plus XL kiosk, and the rest of the Intercard product range for the European sector. Another prominent distributor and sales agent in the territory, JNC Sales, had a populated booth including a major presentation of the big four-player multi-screen street racer Furious Speed DX from Chinese manufacturer. This game reflected a very interesting price point in comparison to its American equivalent. Also shown was a big screen four-player shooting game, Marksman, all these along with a wide selection of the latest Vedemption, Crane, and Prize machines. Instance Automatics having missed last year's show, the company returned to their usual wall along the side of the show, with a selection of the latest Unis technology releases from their prize and coin pushers to their claw machines and the new active video amusement Jumpmaster. Also on a corner of the booth was the retro cabinet with the latest in AI technology in the brand new Neo Shot Photo Booth experience. We were unable to try the machine at the show due to it being not on free play. Pan Amusement made a trip to the London show and represented the two-player shooter, Monster Mash. The Chinese cartoon screen shooter included the unusual element of including physical targets along with the on-screen action. Simulation racing was represented by newcomer to the show Robobike. The UK company offered a realistic racing experience on motorbikes, with their GPS system offering full superbike racing performance, their MXC offering off-road bike action, and an AXS system developed to allow accessibility to the racing game for those in wheelchairs. These systems underlining the motorbike trend that seemed prevalent of the new releases. A full report on this new entrant into the market in our sister publication, Entertainment Social Arena. New exhibitor to the show LaserQup presented their laser tag Mission Laser, interactive platform, and a Twingo VR, twin-seater VR Motion Ride platform made by Complete Solutions VR. The company had an announcement to make about a new acquisition, LaserQuest Group having acquired Complete Solutions VR, which will now be renamed LaserQuest Solutions, that will now spearhead its immersive entertainment division. LaserQuest has over 60 locations in the UK and over 20 globally, with the oldest venue still open since 1992. Another Laser Tag developer at the show was Laser Frost, who had their latest Gen 8 Infinite platform on display. Alongside this was the Pixel Game Interactive Game Floor platform, rounding up the active entertainment experiences on show. Also exhibiting at the show for the first time was Rilex, the VR platform developer who had two examples of their Rylix Coaster two-seater platform, looking at a cost-effective VR offering for malls and rental. This was one of only four VR products on the show floor this year. Along with Rilix, SAI, LAI games, and Complete Solutions, VR, the VR headset approach to entertainment trend, was not as prevalent than seen on previous years. One of the other new trends witnessed on the show floor was the appearance of robots for the first time. Exhibitor Spark Robotics brought examples of their serving robots as well as cleaning systems. Gathering momentum in the bowling center market in the States and other entertainment placements, the Gravity Max facilities in the UK have also been deploying on evaluation table service robotic support. We expect other venues to start their own evaluations. In conclusion, EAG26 and its accompanying expos seem to have compacted again. While the organizers proclaimed a record exhibition count of 109, this was nothing compared to the glory days of the Amusement Trade Exhibition International, ATEI predecessor event, a mixture of diminishing exhibitor interest, third-party distribution representation, and a transitioning amusement trade all playing their part, the organizers also promoting a total of 4,282 unique visitors to the show. While working hard to try and broaden appeal with the social entertainment and casino gaming expo events and the subsequent awards, we can expect EAG 2027 will prove a pivotal event. An additional pressure on the London show attendance was the additional expense for those that have faced that in six months' time they will be returning to the Excel venue for IAAP A Europe 2026. The traveling European IAAPA Convention selecting to return to the UK Capitol, while at the same time EAG26 was impacted by the decision by ICE Barcelona 2026, the game and casino show's change of dates end of January fixture, bringing it closer to the UK amusement trades window. No reason was given for this change in dates, though EAG was still able to find exhibitors for their casino component, attendance would have obviously been impacted from international executives. Separate of EAG 26 was the other major trade association gathering in London the day prior with Balper's 90th anniversary annual dinner. The Association for the Theme Park and Leisure Entertainment Sector in the UK was this year held at Madame Tussaud's, the guests of Merlin Entertainment. Founded in 1936 as the Association of Amusement Park Proprietors, AAPP, then changing to the British Association of Leisure Parks Peers and Attractions, BALPPA, in 1986. The 90th year for the Association marks a pivotal year for many of its membership facing challenging conditions, as has been seen by several closures of family resorts in recent months, as well as impacts on attendance reported by many, along with sales of key sites such as the reveal that the iconic Brighton Pier location was being sold, after the group divested itself of other entertainment venue holdings. What can be expected as a crowded exhibition season reflected with EAG clashing with the Turkish A-Trax 2026 show in Istanbul. Well-known industry corporations took the time to have representation at the event, as well as local exhibitors such as Omega Entertainment with the selection of their VR simulators. One of the key exhibitors at the show was local-based DOF Robotics. The company made the announcement that they had made a$20 million investment into Neo Cappadocia, a new technology-focused entertainment and tourism project, which will occupy a 5,000 square meter indoor facility that will comprise several immersive attractions. Acquisition of the land for the facility in Ivanos was finalized in December 2025. Now all eyes turn to the next batch of trade events. With the changed calendar, we will see deal, followed by IAAPI and then the North American Trade Events, with Amusement Expo International scheduled for March in Las Vegas. Many questions are now raised towards what the expected international coverage for this first U.S. trade event under the current conditions, and the viability of the sector to hold its own dedicated trade event in the face of external conditions.