If you’ve spent any time around retro gaming circles in the last few days, you’ve probably seen the rumours flying: Arcade1Up is shutting down. Unfortunately, this time it isn’t just internet panic.
An internal email, now widely shared on Reddit, appears to confirm that Arcade1Up is closing operations, with the majority of staff facing a final working day this coming Friday. The message was sent to members of the company’s beta testing team and leaves little room for interpretation.
According to the email:
“Arcade1Up is closing operations. For the majority of us, our last day is this coming Friday.”
The sender also makes it clear they cannot comment on the future ownership of the brand, or what happens next behind the scenes. That uncertainty is what has Arcade1Up owners understandably nervous.
Is this officially confirmed?
At the time of writing, there has been no public-facing announcement from Arcade1Up itself. Everything we currently know comes from the leaked internal communication.
While that means some caution is still warranted, the consistency of reports — and the specificity of the email — strongly suggests this is more than just speculation.
What happens to existing Arcade1Up machines?
The big concern for most owners is simple: will my cabinet still work?
The short answer is yes — at least for offline play. Arcade1Up machines run locally, so the games themselves won’t suddenly stop functioning. Your cabinets won’t brick overnight.
The bigger question is online functionality.
What happens to Online Play once the servers go dark?
This is where things get interesting — and, surprisingly, a little reassuring.
Developer CodeMystics, who handled the online infrastructure for several Arcade1Up titles, previously explained that they planned for this scenario from day one.
According to CodeMystics, games running on the Gemini online system include a built-in fallback mode that allows online multiplayer without central servers.
Affected titles include:
- NBA Jam
- Killer Instinct
- Mortal Kombat
- X-Men
- NFL Blitz
Instead of traditional matchmaking servers, Gemini uses what CodeMystics describe as a “poor man’s matchmaking” system.
In simple terms:
- Cabinets store a directory of the last 100 IP addresses of machines they’ve previously played against
- Machines ping each other directly to see who is online
- Players can manually add IP addresses to the list
This means online play can continue peer-to-peer, even if Arcade1Up’s servers are fully shut down.
There are some caveats:
- The fallback mode must be manually enabled
- Players will need to set up port forwarding on their router
- It’s less seamless than server-based matchmaking
That said, CodeMystics have confirmed that instructions already exist and would almost certainly be shared widely by the community if the servers are sunset.
In other words: online play for key titles is not automatically dead.
What about Infinity Tables and other products?
The internal email offers no concrete answers here.
The sender states they believe arcade systems and Infinity Tables will continue operating as they do now, but stresses they do not know for certain. This suggests that while functionality may remain intact in the short term, long-term support, updates, and repairs are a complete unknown.
A sad day for modern retro gaming
Arcade1Up helped bring affordable home arcade cabinets into mainstream living rooms. For many players, these machines were their first taste of owning something close to an arcade original.
If this really is the end of Arcade1Up as we know it, it’s a disappointing — but not entirely surprising — chapter in modern retro gaming. Rising costs, licensing fees, and a crowded market have made survival difficult.
The silver lining? Thanks to smart engineering decisions and a passionate community, many Arcade1Up machines may outlive the company itself.
We’ll update this story if Arcade1Up issues an official statement or if more details emerge.
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Christian Cawley is the founder and editor of GamingRetro.co.uk, a website dedicated to classic and retro gaming. With over 20 years of experience writing for technology and gaming publications, he brings considerable expertise and a lifelong passion for interactive entertainment, particularly games from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras.
Christian has written for leading outlets including TechRadar, Computer Weekly, Linux Format, and MakeUseOf, where he also served as Deputy Editor.
When he’s not exploring vintage consoles or retro PCs, Christian enjoys building with LEGO, playing cigar box guitar, and experimenting in the kitchen.
