Microsoft has acknowledged requests to bring back the beloved retro classic 3D Pinball game to modern Windows. While the game has remained playable via unofficial means since its sudden absence following the launch of Vista, this nod provides some hope that the classic may return on Windows 11 in some official, integrated form.
Pavan Davuluri, executive vice president of Windows and devices, responded to a social post that simply reads “bring back 3D pinball.” Speaking on the Inside Windows podcast, Davuluri said, “we’ve had a great history in Windows of having games in-box, and noted on 3D Pinball, we will add that into the matrix for things to think about.”
This acknowledgement by no means guarantees that we’ll see 3D Pinball return to Windows anytime soon, but it’s certainly enough to stoke the nostalgic hopes of PC gamers of a particular age. Those, like me, old enough to remember Windows 95 through Windows XP will have many fond memories of 3D Pinball – Space Cadet.
The game had been a part of Windows operating systems since the Microsoft Plus! 95 expansion, right up until the launch of Vista where it unceremoniously disappeared. Bugs arising from the shift between 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems was the cause of 3D Pinball’s disappearance, as Microsoft veteran Raymond Chen explained many years ago in a Windows dev blog.
Restoring 3D Pinball as we know it could prove difficult. The Space Cadet table that many know and love was just one of several designs that Microsoft licenced from Full Tilt! Pinball, making it an unofficial demo of sorts. The full game was published by Maxis, which now resides under the Electronic Arts umbrella.
Regardless, I’d love to see Microsoft return to its roots in the spirit of 3D Pinball. Solitaire is all well and good, but nothing quite beats the hypnotising sights and sounds of that Space Cadet table. While you’re at it, let’s bring back SkiFree, with our Ben also championing Reversi’s return to the fore.
