Insert Coin is the amazing behind-the-scenes story of one of the greatest video game studios of all time – Midway Games.

Eugene Jarvis, the creator of 80s classic videogames such as Defender and Robotron, returns to the industry in the 90s. In the process, he assembles a team that pioneers the concept of bringing live action into videogames, thereby kickstarting a new era in the arcades. The technology explodes into massive hits such as Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam and soon the team begins to conquer the world. What began as a small tight-knit group begins to deal with success and eventually the rise of home consumer technology. Midway Games was one of the most prolific video game companies and also gained notoriety for its heightened violence and anarchic spirit.

Insert Coin documents the company’s coin-op success from their small team working in the back of a Chicago pinball factory to making one of the most successful games of all time. Interviews with the Midway team, ranging from executives to programmers, take us through the development of their tentpole titles while archival footage gives viewers a chance to watch the actors who brought these games to life. This ragtag team had a simple punk-rock design mantra: “there are no rules.” and as filmmaker Joshua Tsui—a former Midway designer and Sub-Zero himself—takes viewers on this raucous ride with the studio’s iconoclastic designers that earned over a billion dollars at the arcade. We see how they took the country by storm before their eventual implosion; nonetheless, they remain pop culture touchstones to this day. This film is an awesome look back at this exciting period in gaming history.

Joshua Tsui  |  USA  |  2020  |  101 mins.