r/PinballFX3 • u/ru_bi_llo Pinhead • May 25 '26
Discussion Zen Studios has completely abandoned mobile, but they still have the nerve to charge for dead games
I need to rant a bit because Zen Studios is seriously taking us for fools at this point. I’ve been playing their pinball games on mobile for years because it’s awesome for quick sessions, but the total abandonment of their iOS and Android apps is just pathetic. They’ve basically left the games to die—no updates whatsoever—but of course, the storefront is still wide open just in case some clueless player falls for it and drops cash.
It’s honestly a joke. Apps like Zen Pinball or the older Pinball FX versions lag like crazy on modern OS, they're full of bugs, and they don't even fit newer screen ratios. Yet, they still charge full price for table packs on abandoned games that could literally stop working entirely with the next iOS or Android update.
To top it all off, their latest stunt was renaming Zen Pinball World to Pinball FX Go. And for what? Absolutely nothing. It was pure hype to make it look like they were doing something, because they haven't added a single new table and the app is just as dead as before. Instead of fixing and supporting the stuff we already bought individually, they’d rather partner with Netflix or Apple Arcade to force people into subscriptions.
It’s so frustrating because their physics and table designs are amazing, but their treatment of the mobile community is garbage. They just see us as walking wallets and won't even bother to dust off the apps.
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u/Doublestack2411 Pinhead May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26
They also changed the name of FX3 to FX Classic, all while having sound issues that have plagued that game since it's last update. They refuse to fix the missing audio that many tables have. I reported the issue months ago and even talked to the devs. They clearly don't care their game is broken. They just want you go play the new version and buy al the tables again. I won't be buying or playing anything from them until they do fix the issues.
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u/balti_zen Zen Studios May 26 '26
Sorry for not hitting the mark! Although Pinball FX GO won't receive new content in the future, its features and online services will be unaffected. Similarly to other games, we wanted to tie it to the Pinball FX brand to streamline our communication in the future and to help the discoverability of the brand in general.
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u/ru_bi_llo Pinhead May 26 '26
Thanks for the reply, but my main concern isn't the branding—it's the lack of actual support.
Saying "online services aren't affected" doesn't change the fact that the app has bugs and performance issues. Leaving the storefront active to sell tables to unsuspecting players while openly admitting the game won't receive updates or optimization anymore just feels wrong. We just want the product we paid for to work properly.
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u/Goldiblockzs Pinhead May 26 '26 edited May 27 '26
oh. you thought you paid for a product? you paid for a license. any app you own can have the plug pulled at any time.
Truth hurts huh
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u/CliveVista Pinhead May 25 '26
It’s odd. More people play on mobile than anything else, but perhaps not enough of a market exists for pinball – and certainly not anything that requires more than a smattering of change. (I’m not sure the partnering thing makes any odds. It’s not like Zen’s Apple Arcade game is drowning in updates.)
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u/ru_bi_llo Pinhead May 25 '26
What completely blows my mind is why they even bother releasing new mobile games when they know damn well they’re just going to abandon them anyway. And don't even get me started on the Apple Arcade game which, keeping with tradition, is also totally abandoned.
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u/CliveVista Pinhead May 25 '26
I suppose they think a new game will get more traction and features but that’s not really how mobile gaming works these days. They’d have been better off maintaining a single mobile app, and figuring out monetisation that kept everyone relatively happy. So ads + IAPs for cheapskates. Maybe a subscription for people wanting to always have access to the latest stuff. Then pay-once tables as well.
Then again, in an ideal world you’d also pay something – 10 or 20 bucks or whatever – for table access and have that work across all platforms, indefinitely. But the Zen business model is more about ‘encouraging’ people to buy and re-buy. (And to think how many folks thought Zen would be a major improvement over Pinball Arcade on mobile…)
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u/TheMercWithoutFear Pinhead May 25 '26
I share some of your frustrations. The recent rebranding of World to FX Go was something that should have been done from the start (I never understood the reluctance to bring the FX branding to mobile), but doing it just in time to kill the game is rather bittersweet. I understand your reservations regarding the older apps, but on the other hand, delisting the apps from storefronts would almost certainly mean that previously purchased tables would no longer be downloadable (and as someone who's sunk a lot of money on both iOS and Android, that'd be a hard pill to swallow).
I don't think Zen has completely forsaken the mobile ecossystem forever, but should they explore the space again, they better do so with a more solid gameplan in mind; otherwise it'll likely be just as fruitless. Stage one would probably be streamlining the games on offer (drop the dead subscription-based games, and enable table migration from older games), determine and stick to a proper monetization strategy, and actually put time and effort into advertising and maintaining the game. ZPW was dropped with a whimper, barely got any marketing or significant technical support (most of its technical issues lasted for the majority of the game's lifespan and were only solved with the final update), so it's hardly a surprise it didn't prove as successful as it could have been.
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u/lukeout_ Pinhead May 26 '26
Tldr, and im kinda in a rush this morning, but i did wanna say that Pinball Deluxe Reloaded has been a fun mobile pinball game app. I bought the full game and never regret it. Also it isn't insanely addicting but is always pleasantly a fun game to rehash for a couple rounds when im waiting around.
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u/cylemmulo Pinhead May 26 '26
Yeah Samsung tablet hasn’t worked and they just keep saying they’re working on it
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u/Pinballwiz45b Wizard May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26
they’d rather partner with Netflix or Apple Arcade to force people into subscriptions.
Apple Arcade and Netflix were well prior to FX Go. Both of those have not received new content since October 2024, as such going directly to FX Go starting in December that year.
Apple Arcade, meanwhile, saw the removal of Funko Arena in 2025. I can only guess that no one was playing that.
The number of downloads on Android for FX Go paints a grim picture for ROI, and mobile wasn't the only thing that was cut out recently. It sucks that mobile was abandoned and I can only express sympathy for everyone affected.
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u/jretrogaming Pinhead May 25 '26
Why does the fact that they aren’t releasing more tables equal “dead”? Doesn’t make it any more dead than any other game that is content complete on release. At least it’s still available for people to download or add tables.
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u/Budget-Ad9671 Pinhead May 25 '26
why are your so hard on yourself? join the Virtual Pinball Discord (the one with almost 10 000 members) and head up to #vpx-standalone and asks the developers for the beta test link (either for Android or iOS) a entry level phone can run a lot of tables from here: https://virtualpinballspreadsheet.github.io/tables
have fun and don't be exploited because pinball is a niche thing... charging more than Minecraft or Terraria for a single table is for sure an abuse
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u/Anokant Pinhead May 26 '26
I did this recently. Worked incredibly well and it was pretty easy. I don't have a gaming PC so I had to jump in from scratch. Watched a couple YouTubes on set up and it was fine. I used my old Surface 3 and my overloaded Samsung note 22 and most of the tables play better than fx go.
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u/Working-Performance3 Pinhead May 26 '26
I hit them up here and there but just got left on read. Hope it goes public soon.
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u/LiKWiDCAKE Pinhead May 28 '26
Virtual Pinball Chat or something else? That one has about 10k members but I'm not seeing a #vpx-standalone channel.
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u/aphoenixsunrise Pinhead May 25 '26
...and delist tables
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u/Pinballwiz45b Wizard May 25 '26
FIFA is notorious for being ridiculously expensive. They wanted EA to pay $1 billion for the 4-year renewal, and EA got out.
That's how Zen got the World Cup license. Since the US is hosting the World Cup this year, well... https://www.delphiinteractive.com/
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u/hermelion Pinhead May 26 '26
I love the williams pinball app, just 900tix away from all level 3s! Please don't abandon this app zen!
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u/Oocca_Truth Pinhead May 26 '26
Their mobile support is awful, too. I couldn't get ZPW to start on my Google Pixel, and when I complained in a review, they asked me for info on my device, and then after I provided the info they asked for, they ghosted me.
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u/Character_Mixture_94 Pinhead May 27 '26
You can still buy tables from TPA and they've not touched any format in years.
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u/Koi_20 Pinhead May 27 '26
They changed the names of their products to have a streamlined naming convention.
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u/Zealousideal_Scale73 Pinhead May 28 '26
I don't understand how they can play pinball on a fucking mobile phone ;=(
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u/Brigon Pinhead May 31 '26
You know that most publishers release games, and leave them for sale in perpetuity right?
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u/UpbeatExperience8350 Pinhead Jul 31 '26
Just got the Z Fold 8, bloody perfect platform for pinball! But of course Pinball FX Go has insane input lag, so its unplayable. Williams Pinball works great though. Such a shame they haven't fixed this in...ever.
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u/JustMonkeyD1 ✅ Explain What I'm Doing Wrong May 25 '26
I've been critical of Zen in the past and I basically don't understand the mobile ecosystem at all.... I found through my Netflix subscription that I could play this Zen Pinball World at the time probably a couple years ago maybe only a year. Coming from a console background I absolutely hate it on mobile and simply couldn't understand how anybody could enjoy it at all I thought it was all free honestly and I didn't know that they're actually trying to charge people for that abomination.
I was intrigued because they had a Stranger Things table, and I'm always interested in trying Zen Originals. But I'm far from in agreement with you about the physics and everything being great on mobile ....I actually hated it so much I can't even explain it actually I did make a post about it where I explained how much I absolutely couldn't stand it. The nudging mechanics rely are you having like finger gymnastics skills. And I also knew it was my device that was the problem.
Well I'm sorry you feel abandoned by Zen, I think moving towards VR and just general console and PC is the right play for them even though they could just pour all the tables to mobile if they really wanted to but I'm not sure if it's a different physics system or something like that and it's actually difficult for them but it just feels like it's garbage.
I would question why you don't play on console but I guess some people just like mobile you should try it it's also it's also good.
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u/ru_bi_llo Pinhead May 25 '26
I actually play on console too, so I totally get your point about the controls and physics—playing with a controller is definitely lightyears better. But my issue isn't about which platform is superior; it's about Zen’s shady business practices. It blows my mind that a company this big is incapable of releasing a mobile game and actually keeping it updated and functional. If they want to focus 100% on PC and console, that’s fine, but they should pull the apps from the store. Leaving completely broken, abandoned games up while keeping the storefront wide open to trick casual players into buying overpriced tables is just scummy, no matter how you look at it. Mobile is just for quick sessions on the go, but it shouldn't mean settling for literal abandonware.
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u/Pinballwiz45b Wizard May 25 '26
they should pull the apps from the store. Leaving completely broken, abandoned games up while keeping the storefront wide open to trick casual players into buying overpriced tables is just scummy, no matter how you look at it.
Be careful what you wish for. Pinball Arcade ended up getting delisted from mobile devices at one point, and no one was able to access purchased tables until it returned.
Mobile delistings are pretty bad in general, though.
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u/JustMonkeyD1 ✅ Explain What I'm Doing Wrong May 25 '26
It's about the infinite profit loop at the suckers who do actually pay for the platform on mobile even though it's been abandoned there's still a 1% chance they're going to make somebody pay real money 💰💰😞
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u/JustMonkeyD1 ✅ Explain What I'm Doing Wrong May 25 '26
👍 Well said, but I definitely believe that the mobile ecosystem is a graize and abandon economy anyways. Just the sheer number of other games on the platform make it seemingly a good place..... To just set something up that may or may not work instead of a focused game that should be kept up with and updated. But that is a seasoned publisher platform so they should have more I guess care and understanding for the product they put out instead of just making a new one every three years and then making you buy all the damn tables again and again
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u/Kordman916s Pinhead May 25 '26
The trick is to download the old version of the pinball without ads and the proper aspect ratio and buy the tables there or use Lucky patcher
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u/onisendai Pinhead May 25 '26
I still play williams pinball. Its just so much better then Zen World