Zen Studios has been busy building up its new pinball platform Pinball FX on Epic Games Store over the last year. Taking input from a dedicated player community, Zen has been fiddling and adjusting the software and sales model, all while gradually adding tables until there are now more than 70 available. Things must be nearing a pretty good state, because Zen last night announced a February 2023 release date for Pinball FX on consoles.
Pinball FX is Zen's final word (for now) on pinball platforms, a place for all of their original and adapted real-world digital pinball tables to live in one place. The platform boasts 4K HDR visuals, ray tracking, and and advance physics engine - essentially all the modern goodies that gamers have come to expect.
Tables can be purchased in multi-table packs, or players can subscribe to "Pinball Pass", which opens up almost the whole lot for exploration and play. While Pinball Pass will be cross-platform, it looks as though table purchases will be limited to the platform on which they are purchased, which is a tad disappointing. Oh well, maybe they will crack that nut eventually.
Over the last year, more and more features have been added into Pinball FX, including tournaments, seasonal events, and leaderboards - all of which will now be cross-platform.
In addition to the console release date, Zen Studios also announced the arrival of several new tables. The insanely popular Williams Pinball: The Addams Family will be released in February 2023 for $9.99 (free for Pinball Pass subscribers). The DreamWorks Animated Pinball Collection will release on Dec 15. on Epic Games Store (and we assume it will be there in Feb. for the console launch), featuring tables based on Trolls, How to Train Your Dragon, and Kung-Fu Panda. This pack will retail for $14.99, and will also be free for Pinball Pass subscribers. And Peanuts Snoopy Pinball will release on Dec. 15 as well, for 60 in-game tickets.
Hopefully Zen Studios will clarify the sunsetting of the ticket system for fans, particularly those that have purchased a bunch of tickets and now aren't sure whether they will be able to buy new tables with them. In the latest episode of the Pinball Show, Zen stated that there is a plan for players that have purchased tables with tickets, as well as a plan for leftover tickets, but the specifics have yet to announced. There is likely to be a bit of turbulence for players while this transition is made, and hopefully Zen Studios can get out in front of some of the messaging to keep thing moving along smoothly.
Pinball FX is now available as a free download on Epic Games Store, and will release on PlayStation and Xbox consoles in February 2023, with a Nintendo Switch release coming later in 2023.
