In a new twist to the ongoing saga of former Donkey Kong record holder Billy Mitchell, Twin Galaxies has opted to reintroduce his scores on its historical website database. Mitchell is a controversial figure in the professional gaming world, gaining notoriety during the arcade era of the 1980s and 1990s by setting records for games like the original Pac-Man and Donkey Kong. His fame increased further when he repeatedly reclaimed the Donkey Kong record during the 2000s, leading to a documented rivalry with fellow gamer Steve Wiebe in the 2007 film The King of Kong.

After being momentarily surpassed by fellow Donkey Kong player Hank Chien, Mitchell set a new record score in 2010, only to have it broken by Steve Wiebe a few months later. In 2018, allegations of using emulation software to inflate his scores led to Mitchell being stripped of his records by Twin Galaxies, the video game database responsible for documenting such accomplishments. Despite the Guinness World Records reinstating his Donkey Kong records in 2020, Twin Galaxies maintained their decision to remove Mitchell's controversial scores.

However, in a recent announcement on the official Twin Galaxies website, it was revealed that Mitchell's scores will be reinstated, at least on the platform's historical database of past achievements. This decision follows testimony from Dr. Michael Zyda, an Emeritus Professor of engineering practice enlisted by Mitchell to aid in his six-year legal battle. Zyda's opinion stated that he was unable to confirm whether Mitchell had used emulation to falsify his Donkey Kong scores, suggesting that the scores in question could have been achieved on unmodified arcade cabinet hardware. He also noted that the anomalies leading to Mitchell's ban could be attributed to malfunctioning hardware and the quality of the original videotapes documenting some of the scores. In response to Zyda's opinion, Twin Galaxies chose to reinstate Mitchell's scores on the historical database, emphasizing that their mission is to verify submissions against guidelines, not to investigate their production methods.

Billy Mitchell has always been a polarizing figure, especially following his portrayal in The King of Kong as an antagonist to Steve Wiebe. Twin Galaxies' recent decision to reinstate his old Donkey Kong scores after six years of controversy is likely to reignite debate. It's important to note that Mitchell's scores are only restored on Twin Galaxies' historical database, and the platform has not confirmed whether Mitchell cheated in the first place.