Location Watch March 2026: The Latest Arcade Openings Across The World

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Welcome to Location Watch, the series of posts on Arcade Heroes that compiles the most recent openings of new arcades all around the world. It’s been a couple months since the last one now, so enough has built up for this post to have a healthy amount of locations. Many thanks as always to our readers and sources for sending some of these in, as well as InterGame and RePlay Magazine for their regular rolling updates.

North America

2nd Loop Arcade (Torrance, CA)

First, we have a place that grabbed a bunch of attention when it opened last month. This was to the extent that there were some odd takes from people less engaged with the scene, who were acting like an arcade opening is an extraordinary sight these days. Perhaps they should read these posts if they find it that surprising, but 2nd Loop Arcade is definitely one of the more exciting new locations of recent months, with a whole host of shoot ’em ups on classic candy cabinets (their website lists what’s in rotation on those) and exA-Arcadia ARC-32s with the latest EXA Label titles, as well as rhythm games like Maimai DX. All of them are on card-based play; the place is also interestingly owned and curated by the son of the late John Singleton, who has otherwise written for a couple of the recent Transformers animated series.

Otherworlds’ Arcade (Kenner, LA)

Thanks to reader Rixor for the heads up on this freeplay spot in Greater New Orleans, that also opened last month. Otherworlds’ Arcade are a lot more conventionally retro-focused than 2nd Loop’s high Japanese flavor, with classics like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong Junior, and the original House of the Dead, but they do also have fan favorites such as San Fransisco Rush 2049 and Gunblade NY, as well as several 2000s racers and shooters, a few ticket games on amusement mode, and a couple of imported rhythm games from recent years. Find them on Facebook here.

Spellbound Arcade (Casper, WY)

This place out in Wyoming’s second largest city opened at the Eastridge Mall at the start of March. There is an article out there which says they don’t have any games newer than 1999, which would put them among those with that arbitrary limiting rule – however, someone has made a Zenius-I-Vanisher listing which claims there is a StepManiaX cabinet on order, and they do also have some newer VR setups and space for table games or trading cards (which they additionally sell). Besides those though, the main arcade lineup of 20 machines consists of retro classics all the way. The video below covers them setting things up in January; find their more up to date website and Facebook here and here.

Mystic Arcade (Fort Wayne, IN)

Mystic Arcade is a type of location we’ve been seeing from time to time lately, with almost exclusively machines directly imported from China and the neon decor to match them. As is usual here, that means many cranes, a number of games from the likes of UNIS and Ace, various VR simulators, some titles we never see through the big distributors, and a few eyebrow-raising bootlegs of Japan-originated releases. Their website also goes by “Mystic Arcades”, plural, so it’s possible they are looking at opening more locations.

Duckie’s Revenge (Joshua, TX)

One more that opened up back in February is Texas’ latest pinball-focused arcade, with a rather idiosyncratic namesake. InterGame’s coverage purports they have a “laid-back sports-bar vibe” and are an official Stern Army location, featuring Star Wars, Jaws, Black Knight, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Attack From Mars and Dr No (James Bond), to name a few. Find them on Facebook here.

VanCity Pinball & Arcade (Vancouver, Canada)

Another pinball place, but this time up in Canada, wears its city of origin on its sleeve by incorporating part of it into the location name. As mentioned in the InterGame article and seen below in this detailed video by Grownup Adjacent Pinball, they have got over 60 games on hand, including Pirates of the Caribbean, Iron Man and Avatar; find them and more looks at the venue at Facebook.

Retro Social Freeplay Arcade (Frankfort, KY)

For those looking for that retro arcade feel in Frankfort (which sits in-between Louisville and Lexington), then this new freeplay arcade with sixty games from the 1980s & 90s has got you covered. They also have a party room, drinks, food truck services on the weekends, and a retro game space with old consoles connected to CRT TVs. They also have three pinball machines, including a new Pokémon. Visit their website here.

FEC Openings & Updates

S1ckH4ndsRBN Tours Round1’s Newest Edison, NJ Location

Dave & Buster’s In Jacksonville, FL Gets A Full Remodelling

Andretti Karting Opens New Schaumburg, IL Location

ThrillHouse Launches Arcade, Bowling And Golf In Marion, IL

The Hub FEC Opens With Cashless Arcade In Stillwater, OK

Star Lanes Polaris Wins FEC Of The Year At The AAMA Awards

Arcade Time Orlando Named Best Arcade At Bowling Center Architecture and Design Awards – They have a Fly’n Ducks duckpin bowling attraction from QubicaAMF, so that explains it

Andretti Thrill Park In Melbourne, FL Closes Down To Become… A 234 Unit Apartment Complex – It had a good run at least, staying open for 27 years (which is why it’s being redeveloped)

Lots Of Attention On Two Round1USA’s Adding exA ARC-32 Cabs In California

Europe

High Score Arcades #8 (Andover, England)

Whilst High Score recently had to close down their Poole location, they made up for that with the opening of another place elsewhere in Andover (over an hour’s drive from the spot that they shut down). It’s hard to tell if any equipment was moved as part of that, but they are offering their usual game mix centered on assorted deluxe cabinets from the present century, with a slightly steep asking price of £12 for just one hour of freeplay. That must be working though, given the business has kept expanding on that same model everywhere. More photos here.

Continue Arcades #3 (Chichester, England)

Another quickly expanding string of British freeplay arcades is Continue, who like High Score have mainly stuck to opening in the south of the country so far (but do have plans beyond that – see Coming Soon at the end…). This one keeps up that trend, and is among the newest openings in this post, having thrown open their doors on the 27th. Like High Score, they rely on a lot of deluxe cabinets to make up the numbers, several of which can be seen in this Facebook post of theirs, but do offer slightly better value with no time limit imposed on their paid entry model.

Twister Arcade (Badalona, Spain)

Of no relation to the classic mat game (they don’t have the arcade interpretation by Adrenaline either), Twister Arcade is a European chain that hasn’t appeared on our radar until now, when they posted an article to LinkedIn mentioning several of their openings in recent months. For the latest of those, their first to ever open in Spain comes after their locations in Germany and Croatia. Though they have a lot of prize games, as can be seen below they have got both Asphalt 9 Legends Arcade and Moto Blitz, for that car/biker combo.

FEC Openings & Updates

East Street Lanes Bowling Alley Gets New Arcade Extension

Bandai Namco’s Arcade Allies #4 – Haven Leisure Parks

Blast From The Past Arcade In Halifax, UK Reopens

Gamestate Arnhem + Enschede Receive Renovations

Asia/Middle East/Oceania

Capcomix Abeno Hoop (Osaka, Japan)

Not many openings for these parts of the world have presented themselves to us this time; most seem more to be on the FEC side of things (if you know of any arcades proper, please let us know!), but one that’s worth a special mention is Capcom’s latest attempt at utilizing their IP to create a amusement center. Their new Capcomix facility concept has just debuted in Osaka, with plenty of cranes and a space for merchandise sales, but also “Crazy BANet with Capcom All-Stars”, a special area with immersive projection wall games and other active attractions based on the likes of Street Fighter, Mega Man, Resident Evil, and more. Check out the below video coverage for a good look at them all:

iPlay (Sydney, Australia)

TimeZone are by some distance the main arcade chain standing in Australia, but every now and then we do hear about competitors, with iPlay among them. This family-owned example lately opened their newest Sydney venue, equipped with a Sacoca card system as per InterGame. From the looks of the game selection, they have several of the Japanese titles Aussies get from their closer proximity to Asia, including Maximum Tune 6RR here, as well as all the standard FEC-type redemption fare that we see more often out West.