Basic Fun! acquires Arcade1Up assets, promises to keep the lights on

If you have ever looked at a Basic Fun! Tiny Arcade cabinet and thought "I wish this took up half my living room instead of my pocket," your specific prayers have been answered.

As announced by Arcade1Up, toy manufacturer Basic Fun! has acquired "select assets" of the home arcade company. The announcement, released on December 17, confirms that the maker of the popular Tiny Arcade line is taking over the brand that popularized the 3/4-scale home cabinet market.

Select Assets, Specific Promises

The phrasing "select assets" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. In corporate acquisitions, this typically means the buyer is picking up the intellectual property, inventory, and branding while leaving behind the less desirable parts of the business structure. This follows a period of financial uncertainty for Arcade1Up, which had seen reports of layoffs and scaled-back operations throughout 2023 and 2024.

Basic Fun! states they intend to support existing products "to the best of our ability,". Which suggests an intention to keep online services and support running, though it stops short of a lifetime guarantee.

"This asset acquisition reflects our ongoing commitment to expanding our presence in the home arcade space, supporting current Arcade1Up titles and products alongside our own existing arcade offerings," the company stated.

From Micro to Macro

This move brings two ends of the arcade replica spectrum under one roof. Arcade1Up spent the last few years dominating the mid-range market with $300 to $500 cabinets for titles like Street Fighter II, NBA Jam, and Mortal Kombat. Their business model relied on selling 4-foot-tall furniture that required assembly. Conversely, Basic Fun! has focused on impulse-buy price points with their Tiny Arcade and Micro Arcade lines, which shrink similar licenses down to keychain or desktop sizes.

The acquisition makes sense on paper. Basic Fun! already holds licenses with many of the same publishers Arcade1Up worked with, including Bandai Namco and Konami. Consolidating the licensing and manufacturing under one entity could streamline the production of retro hardware, regardless of whether it fits in your pocket or requires a riser to play standing up.

For collectors sitting on a room full of MDF cabinets, this is likely the best possible outcome. The alternative was the brand disappearing entirely, potentially taking online matchmaking servers and firmware updates with it. Basic Fun! notes they will have more to share regarding their specific plans in the new year.

I wonder if they will still be selling those Arcade 1up claw machines or photo booths? I personally had no reason to purchase one. But I love that they existed. And no IP license required!