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The 2025 Chicago Pinball Expo, which covers both pinball and some retro gaming systems and topics, is now live at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel in Schaumburg, IL. The event this year runs until October 18, 2025. A single-day ticket for people ages 11 and up is $50. The event hall is open until 12am CT on October 17, 2025, and it stays open until 1am CT on October 18, 2025.
While the events and autograph sessions primarily focus on pinball, arcade cabinets and retro titles come up both during panels, via special guests, and sellers in the vendor hall. For example, some of the more notable activities earlier on Friday were a Stern Pinball Tour, due to the company’s factory being in the area. Some of teh panels on FRiday included Jeremy Saucier’s “Preserving & Exhibiting the History of Coin-Op Games at the Strong National Museum of Play” and Stern Pinball’s “Stern Technology.” Some of the Saturday panels include looks into pinball tables like Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant’s Eye, King Kong: Myth of Terror Island, and Star Wars: Fall of the Empire. Flipout and kid’s tournaments are taking place. One of the more notable gaming attendees is Atari founder Nolan Bushnell.
The Chicago Pinball Expo is an annual event taking place in the Chicago suburbs. 2025 marks its 41st year. In the past, it’s also been combined with other events, such as suburban Video Game Summit. In 2025, the Video Game Summit was a separate event that took place in Countryside, IL in July 2025.
The Chicago Pinball Expo runs until October 18, 2025, and it takes place at Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel in Schaumburg, IL
