KENT, Wash. — Tens of thousands of dollars worth of vintage video game equipment was stolen from a Kent arcade this week.
Charlie Moseley, owner of Gamecenter Arcade, told KIRO 7 his box truck containing two arcade machines, tools, and a slew of electronics that keep the machines at his business running was taken from his back loading dock sometime on Wednesday.
Video games are just fun for most, but they make up Moseley’s livelihood. After years of setting up his dozens of arcade machines at conventions and competitions, he opened his own arcade earlier this year.
“To start a business and getting hit so early on is rough,” Moseley said.
Many of the items inside the truck were “arcade boards,” an obscure piece of tech that essentially acts as the brain of an arcade machine. Moseley is still taking inventory of everything that was stolen, but estimates he is out between $25,000 and $40,000.
He told KIRO 7 he does not expect to be able to replace the stolen boards or the spare parts for the machines, which are no longer in production.
“Some of it is irreplaceable,” he said. “We have artwork from games from the 1980s that you just can’t find anymore.”
Moseley followed an airtag that was in the truck to an apartment complex in Burien, but the truck wasn’t there. He put out a call for help on social media and received a tip that the truck was abandoned in a residential area just outside the Burien city limits. Moseley called the King County Sheriff’s Office.
“Opened it up, we noticed that everything was stolen out of the back of the truck,” he said.
All that remained was one of the arcade machines, tipped over and broken. It was likely too heavy for the thief or thieves responsible to move without extra equipment.
Moseley waited for a tow truck to arrive and spotted a suspicious car driving around the area. He once again called deputies, who arrived minutes later.
“Then the car runs off, almost hits us too, then the cops go on a pursuit,” he said.
A KCSO spokesperson told KIRO7 they were not aware of a pursuit related to the case and could not say whether the “suspicious” driver was a suspect in the theft.
KCSO said no arrests were made.
Moseley said the whole situation is made even more painful due to the fact that the stolen items are worthless without the right buyer.
“It’s super niche items,” he said. “I think what makes it feel worse to me is the thieves are probably not going to value it that much if they try to sell it. You can’t sell this game hardware to a pawn shop.”
©2025 Cox Media Group
