Zen Studios, the folks that have kept Pinball as a genre alive for years now, is finally coming out with their next step, “Pinball FX3”.
In addition to the quality that their previous games have given, the newest entry to the franchise will have more community features, like multiplayer match-ups and competitive tournaments. They’ve, also, redesigned their single player modes to help players hone their pinball skills.
The new tournament structure puts competitive play and community on the forefront. Players can create tournaments and join others. Essentially, the main focus this time around is “play with other people”.
There will be three brand new tables from a “brand-new IP partner”, according to the press release, which will be announced later. In addition, most of the tables from Pinball FX2 and Zen Pinball 2 are able to be brought over to the newest installment at no additional cost. There isn’t a clear list yet of which can or cannot be imported, but the word the press release used is “majority”.
On the official press release, Mel Kirk, VP of Publishing at Zen Studios, said, “Zen Studios has enjoyed a deep conversational relationship with the pinball community for over a decade. We have learned from each other, worked together, and developed a better game together. Pinball FX3 is a milestone step forward for players on console and PC, and I am excited that many of our new features are suggestions from the community. We remain 100% committed to providing our players with an exceptional value, allowing them to bring their collection forward with them as we can all enjoy a host of new features and upgrades together from day one.”
As a fan of the franchise, I’ve been playing Pinball FX since the first installment, playing on PC and their “Zen Pinball” series on mobile. I may be a little biased on my tastes, but their Star Wars and Marvel tables have always been top notch. I hope all of the tables I own make the cut to the next installment so I can play against other people in the tables I love playing.
Pinball FX3 is due out on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows 10, and Steam. No official date has been mentioned yet.
