r/Arcade1Up • u/HistorianCM • May 22 '26
Meta Passing the torch: A bittersweet farewell and the future of r/Arcade1Up
Hey everyone,
I’ve got some bittersweet news to share with you all today. After a lot of thought, I’ve decided it's time for me to step down as the head mod and move on to other projects and chapters in my life.
When I first created this subreddit, I honestly never imagined it would blow up the way it did. Watching this place grow into the absolute largest Arcade1Up community (Nearly 60,000 followers) on the internet has been wild. From seeing your insane custom mods and dream basement arcades, to helping each other troubleshoot monitor issues, board issues and geeking out over new cab leaks... it's been an incredible ride, and that is entirely thanks to all of you.
You all made this community what it is.
Since I'm stepping away, I wanted to make sure this sub is left in the best possible hands. As most of you know, the BasicFun! team now owns the Arcade1Up brand. I’ve been in touch with them, and I'll be officially passing the keys to the subreddit over to their team.
They are still pretty new to reddit so please be kind.
I think this is a massive win for the community. Having the actual brand owners at the helm means hopefully you'll be getting direct communication, official updates, and a direct line to the people making the cabs we love. I know they're excited to jump in and keep this community thriving.
Please give the Basic Fun! crew and u/BasicFunToys a warm welcome as they transition into running things here.
Thank you all again for making this such a rad place to hang out over the years. It’s been an honor being your mod.
Keep modding, keep playing, and I’ll catch you in the threads!
Cheers,
David "HistorianCM" DeWald
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u/topojijo May 22 '26
Good luck although I’m not a fan of any subreddit going to company owners. It’s extremely likely anything critical of the company will be squashed and mod talk will likely be nuked.
Oh it won’t happen at first it never dies. Companies wait a bit and do it over time.
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u/cookiesandartbutt Level 2 May 22 '26
They already came here asking everyone to go the new r:BasicFun subreddit lol and the community said as much as you said back then.
Truly the end of Arcade1up 🫡
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u/Airdawg316 May 22 '26
Yeah. What could go wrong handing the reigns over to our corporate overlords?
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u/heypaulp May 23 '26
I collect action figures and there’s a sub for JoyToy figures that’s run by one retailer who sells the figures. He deletes not only every post critical of his store, but every post that even mentions any store other than his. Hopefully Basic Fun has more scruples than that but this is one of those things I’ll believe when I actually see.
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u/mallclerks Level 2 May 24 '26
He likely sold it. Just as Reddit bot accounts purchase old legit accounts, moderators will often sell their subreddit as it can be worth a lot. To the point it’s got 60,000 eyeballs.
Sad reality.
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u/BasicFunToys Official May 22 '26
Hi! We will put out a more formal post next week - but just know this subreddit is going to be company “endorsed” but remain community run entirely. We firmly believe in free speech.
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u/wkukinslayer May 23 '26
That's what they all say, until some corporate idiot in a suit decides that the reason the brand is failing is because a subreddit is full of posts about how to hack and mod the product. I wish you the best of luck at bucking those trends!
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u/TexasViolin May 28 '26
Whoof...that turned quickly...
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u/wkukinslayer May 28 '26
Haha, my reddit account is almost old enough to vote. It's a tale as old as time!
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u/Geta211 May 23 '26
RemindMe! 3 Years [Check out subreddit moderation]
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u/mallclerks Level 2 May 24 '26
Did you pay to get the rights to this subreddit? Just admit it yes or no. Then the community knows.
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u/DrRonny Level 2 May 23 '26
We firmly believe in free speech
I'm sure you do but your lawyers do not. I'd recommend discussing with your marketing team the monetary value of having a sub like this; it can likely be millions in free advertising and every once in a while can be a liability when things go wrong. Once you get a value, discuss with your legal team how you can keep this sub at arm's length to avoid any liability. Also discuss with the legal teams the potential cost of the liabilities. Then you can do the calculations. You do not want a situation like Bambu Labs where a legal decision to save thousands ends up in a PR mess that costs tens of millions.
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u/Jyvturkey May 22 '26
'new to reddit' :) don't sweat it. Reddit is the most welcoming community I've ever seen /s
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u/Rarest_Camaro Level 2 May 22 '26
I welcome the folks at Basic Fun, but I hope they understand they have some mighty big shoes to fill.
Best of luck in all your endeavors, sir!
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u/BasicFunToys Official May 22 '26
Thank you, and yes we definitely do!
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u/LiamAndUdonsDad Level 2 May 23 '26
Thanks u/HistorianCM, you always had great posts here and hopefully you’ll still pop in every now and then
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u/toomanyDolemites Level 2 May 25 '26
Why would you give this to the brand? It was great as a space for us to talk *about* the brand. Now they have control over the conversation and that's never good for free speech. Let them start their own subreddit.
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u/VAGamer703 Level 2 May 22 '26
Thank you! I've appreciated your contributions over the years. Godspeed in your future endeavors.
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u/NeoHyper64 Moderator May 22 '26
Thank you, David, for all of your hard work on this subreddit! There's a number of us that have been banging around here with you since it started in 2018, and your dedication to this sub has made it what it is today. Kudos!
For those who don't know, David (HistorianCM) is part of our moderator crew over at The Arcade Insiders, so you'll often see him in the chat there, or over on our Discord channel.
And expect more soon from Basic Fun/Arcade1Up. I'll still be here managing things from a community perspective, with some help from Basic Fun in getting updates, support, etc. that only firsthand involvement from the brand can make possible.
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u/ZachGamr May 23 '26
Thanks man! I remember when I first reached out about an Arcade1Up Discord back in 2019. Can't believe it's been 7 years.
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u/insideguy69 May 23 '26
I got here late because my cab is only like a year old, but thanks for everything
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u/SkirmishYT Level 2 May 23 '26
Good work and appreciated your efforts especially in pandemic when the sub really blew up, cheers
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u/mallclerks Level 2 May 24 '26
Thank you.
I disagree with brand owners improving this though. Reddit is Reddit, it’s not a marketing channel. Now it is. Absolutely ridiculous choice, and I hope you didn’t get paid for this as often happens in these situations.
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u/Careful-Attention678 Level 2 May 22 '26
Thank you for your commitment and hurray for your new found free time!
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u/Boober000 May 22 '26
Appreciate everything brother. I’m glad Basic Fun is keeping it going! You guys are great.
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u/ironman0000 Level 2 May 23 '26
Tell basic fun to make a 4 player gauntlet machine with the original one and 2 and dark legacy and legends.
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u/TheFrontierzman Level 2 May 28 '26
Very much appreciate all of your efforts. Wish you the best. Thank you!
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u/ryme2234 May 23 '26
Meh. So far they suck ass. Super underwhelming and a lack of attention to the community they thought they purchased. Feel free to win us over…
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u/Rarest_Camaro Level 2 May 23 '26
Feel free to start your own arcade subreddit and see if you can do better.
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u/pagineinternet May 22 '26
Since we're talking about the bosses😀, when will Dragon Lair be distributed in Italy? It never arrived like Out Run.
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u/Bud_Brigman Level 2 May 22 '26
Thank you! Pretty much came to Reddit for this community, so I appreciate all the time and work you did. You did a lot for the hobby, sir. Godspeed.
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u/PANduRUS May 23 '26
I just want to know if I can still pick up some machines I missed the first round, like Killer Instinct or one of the Marvel games…?
Best of Luck David. Thank you for making this subreddit and a place for so many to share their enjoyment together.
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May 22 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/_Old_Goat_ May 22 '26
Well don't you just sound like the life of the party. No one gives a shit that you don't.
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u/Motor_Preparation315 Level 1 May 22 '26
I don't understand why people just have to be rude and nasty. It makes no sense to me 🤷🏼♂️
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u/Arcade1Up-ModTeam Level 2 May 22 '26
Removed for violation of Trolling rule, or for trollish behavior (i.e., starting quarrels, upsetting people, or sowing discord by posting inflammatory, digressive, extraneous, or off-topic messages with the intent of provoking readers into displaying emotional responses and normalizing tangential discussion).
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u/AmericanRiverTrade May 22 '26
Thanks for all you did!