# First Look at Stern Pinball Venom Animations; “Choose Your Host. Change the Game”

**Source:** Knapp Arcade  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2023-07-17  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/first-look-at-stern-pinball-venom-animations-choose-your-host-change-the-game

---

## Analysis

Knapp Arcade published the first detailed look at Stern Pinball's upcoming Venom machine based on leaked teaser footage, revealing the tagline 'Choose Your Host. Change the Game' and describing multiple mechanical and aesthetic features including a fan layout, character-switching host mechanic, Carnage and Doppelgänger sculpts, and a captive ball roller coaster ramp.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Venom features a 'Choose Your Host. Change the Game' tagline indicating players can choose different Venomized characters with distinct attributes — _Direct observation from official video and stated as game's tagline for first time_
- [HIGH] Machine includes Carnage and Doppelgänger sculpts — _Described as observed features from teaser_
- [HIGH] Playfield features a captive ball roller coaster up ramp mechanic — _Described from video observation as 'takes the coaster to the top of the hill before a drop'_
- [MEDIUM] Game includes multiple symbiote characters (Doppelgänger, Black Spider-Man, Hulk, Wolverine, Captain America variants and others) — _Stated as 'supposedly' included based on details heard over several days, not directly confirmed_
- [HIGH] Stern planned to release full official trailer the day after this article — _Author states 'we're getting the first official full trailer for the game tomorrow'_

### Notable Quotes

> "Choose Your Host. Change the Game"
> — **Stern Pinball (game tagline)**
> _Official game tagline revealing core host-selection mechanic and gameplay philosophy_

> "I've heard a lot of details about the machine itself over the past several days."
> — **Knapp Arcade author**
> _Indicates author received insider information from multiple sources about unreleased machine_

> "The top part of the playfield is packed with a pretty open bottom. 3 wireforms, 2 to the left and 1 to the right"
> — **Knapp Arcade author**
> _Specific playfield layout detail describing wireform configuration_

> "Kudos the the folks on in the Poor Man's Pinball Facebook group for finding the video."
> — **Knapp Arcade author**
> _Credits community for leak discovery, showing how teaser spread through fan channels_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Venom | game | Upcoming Stern Pinball machine based on Marvel Venom character with host-selection mechanic |
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Venom machine |
| Knapp Arcade | organization | Pinball news/media outlet publishing detailed breakdown of Venom teaser |
| Poor Man's Pinball Facebook group | organization | Community group that discovered and shared the leaked Venom teaser video |
| Carnage | product | Sculpted character/mechanic on Venom playfield |
| Doppelgänger | product | Sculpted character/mechanic on Venom playfield; also referenced as a battle opponent |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Venom machine announcement and teaser leak, Host-selection gameplay mechanic, Playfield design and mechanical features
- **Secondary:** Marvel IP licensing for pinball, Community leaks and information discovery
- **Mentioned:** Official marketing timeline and trailer schedule

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.82) — Author expresses enthusiasm throughout ('looks really cool!', 'drool over', 'New pinball launches rule'). Tone is excited and appreciative of the machine design revealed so far.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Fan communities actively discovering and sharing official content before formal announcements, driving early awareness (confidence: high) — Poor Man's Pinball Facebook group found and shared teaser; author credits group for discovery; information spreading through community channels
- **[competitive_signal]** Host-selection mechanic positions Venom as innovative cornerstone title with replayability through character variety (confidence: medium) — Tagline 'Choose Your Host. Change the Game' and described attribute differences between Venomized characters suggest ruleset depth and strategic choice
- **[leak_detection]** Venom teaser video appeared unexpectedly on YouTube and was later set to private, suggesting unplanned early release or accidental posting (confidence: high) — Author notes 'surprisingly appeared on YouTube' and 'video has now been set to private' before being restored
- **[announcement]** Official Stern Venom teaser video released on YouTube revealing game tagline and animations for first time (confidence: high) — Video embedded and described with animations and tagline 'Choose Your Host. Change the Game' visible
- **[product_strategy]** Stern has structured Venom launch with scheduled teaser video, full trailer within 24 hours, and pre-announced launch schedule (confidence: high) — Author mentions 'first official full trailer for the game tomorrow' and references 'Stern launch schedule for Venom that someone just sent me'
- **[technology_signal]** Captive ball roller coaster ramp is novel mechanic not commonly seen, indicating manufacturing complexity (confidence: medium) — Author notes difficulty describing the feature ('It's hard to describe') and calls it 'cool', suggesting novelty and technical sophistication

---

## Transcript

This morning a short teaser featuring animations from Stern Pinball's upcoming new cornerstone pinball machine, Venom surprisingly appeared on YouTube.

I have embedded the video and a bunch of pictures from it below. The video shows us the game's tagline for the first time..."Choose Your Host. Change the Game". I assume that means that players can choose to play as several different Venomized characters, each with their own attributes.

I've heard a lot of details about the machine itself over the past several days. Venom supposedly has:

A fan layout.

Two flippers with Venom's head in between

Tons of characters including Doppelganger, Black Spiderman, Hulk, Wolverine, Captain Americas and an number of other symbiotes

The game has Carnage and Dopplganger sculpts

Plastic ramps with decals

Some sort of captive ball rollercoaster up ramp thingy. You know the ramp that takes the coaster to the top of the hill before a drop? It's hard to describe but it looks cool.

The top part of the playfield is packed with a pretty open bottom. 3 wireforms, 2 to the left and 1 to the right

Kudos the the folks on in the Poor Man's Pinball Facebook group for finding the video. I can't wait to see this game in action. What we've seen so far looks really cool! New pinball launches rule.

UPDATE: Apparently the video has now been set to private so the embedded vid below won't work until Stern makes it public again. We still have the screenshots that I took and other details below to drool over and discuss until Stern gives us more.

UPDATE 2: I've added the Stern launch schedule for Venom that someone just sent me. As I've mentioned previously we're getting the first official full trailer for the game tomorrow.

UPDATE 3: The video is now back up. See below:

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

---

*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 08a56d0c-6f25-4c42-a8c7-a04fc9625d9c*