# Stern Pinball Reveals JAWS 50th Topper; More details on Potential New Pinball Company **Source:** Knapp Arcade **Type:** article **Published:** 2025-12-23 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/blog/stern-pinball-reveals-jaws-50th-topper-more-details-on-potential-new-pinball-company --- ## Analysis Stern Pinball revealed a limited-production JAWS 50th Anniversary topper ($1,099, shipping March 2026) with minimal design changes from the original. Additionally, World Pinball, a new Swiss manufacturer, is developing a Resident Evil pinball machine scheduled for March 2026 with ambitious specifications (4 drummers, 5 magnets, 4 metal ramps, 95% proprietary parts) in a production run of 300 units with 12 ultra-limited S.T.A.R.S character editions. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] JAWS 50th Anniversary topper is priced at $1,099, a $100 increase over the original JAWS topper, with shipping expected in March 2026 — _Knapp Arcade article citing Stern's official announcement_ - [HIGH] Star Wars (2017) received a new code update (Version 1.30) for the first time in a long time, adding support for the new C3PO topper — _Knapp Arcade reporting on Stern code release_ - [MEDIUM] Stern is considering producing popular recent titles like Godzilla on the Spike 3 platform with larger LCD screens and Expression Lighting support — _Knapp Arcade citing chatter online and Don's Pinball Podcast_ - [HIGH] Godzilla is Stern's best-selling game of all-time and continues to be in production — _Knapp Arcade reporting on Stern's production status_ - [HIGH] World Pinball is a Swiss company developing Resident Evil pinball scheduled for March 2026, the 30th anniversary of the license, with production in France (Burgundy) and facilities in Switzerland and France — _Paris Pinball Addict quote cited by Knapp Arcade, sourced from direct conversation with World Pinball maker_ - [HIGH] Resident Evil pinball will feature 4 drummers, 5 magnets, and 4 metal ramps as specifications — _Paris Pinball Addict quote about World Pinball specs_ - [HIGH] World Pinball is manufacturing approximately 95% of parts internally, with screen, speakers, amplifier, and coils sourced from European suppliers (France, Switzerland, Germany) — _Paris Pinball Addict quote providing manufacturing details_ - [HIGH] Resident Evil pinball production will consist of 300 copies total, including 12 ultra-limited special editions representing S.T.A.R.S team members, each numbered and bearing character names with custom details — _Paris Pinball Addict quote detailing production run and special editions_ ### Notable Quotes > "As far as I can tell, those are really the only differences." > — **Knapp Arcade**, December 23, 2025 > _Expresses skepticism about the minimal design differentiation of the JAWS 50th Anniversary topper despite the $100 price increase_ > "I am having a hard time understanding why a major company like Capcom would agree to let a brand new company with no experience making games create one based upon the valuable Resident Evil intellectual property as their first machine." > — **Knapp Arcade**, December 23, 2025 > _Raises industry credibility concerns about World Pinball's ability to secure major IP licensing as a startup_ > "The pinball is therefore scheduled for March 2026, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the license. It will be produced by a Swiss company, WP - World Pinball, and it will be the first Swiss pinball in history." > — **Paris Pinball Addict**, December 23, 2025 (via Knapp Arcade) > _Official confirmation of World Pinball's Swiss origin and Resident Evil pinball release timeline_ > "Nearly 95% of the parts are developed internally, except for the screen, speakers, amplifier or coils, which come from Europe (France, Switzerland, Germany)." > — **Paris Pinball Addict**, December 23, 2025 (via Knapp Arcade) > _Indicates World Pinball's manufacturing philosophy emphasizing proprietary parts development and European supply chain_ > "Pinball won't be on movies but on video games, and it will include 4 unprecedented innovations in the world of pinball." > — **Paris Pinball Addict**, December 23, 2025 (via Knapp Arcade) > _Confirms Resident Evil video game IP base and hints at four undisclosed mechanical innovations_ > "Will this actually happen? Time will tell. It does make sense considering that Godzilla is Stern's best selling game of all-time and it continues to produce it to this day." > — **Knapp Arcade**, December 23, 2025 > _Expresses uncertainty about Spike 3 platform adoption while acknowledging commercial rationale for Godzilla re-platforming_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer announcing JAWS 50th Anniversary topper and Star Wars code update; considering Spike 3 platform for Godzilla replatform | | World Pinball | company | New Swiss pinball manufacturer developing Resident Evil pinball machine as flagship product, scheduled for March 2026 release | | Jaws 50th | game | Stern's 50th Anniversary edition with new limited-production topper priced at $1,099, shipping March 2026 | | Resident Evil Pinball | game | World Pinball's flagship machine based on Capcom video game IP, scheduled March 2026 with 300 unit production (12 ultra-limited S.T.A.R.S character editions) | | Star Wars (2017) | game | Stern machine receiving first code update in extended period (Version 1.30) adding C3PO topper support | | Godzilla | game | Stern's best-selling game of all-time; subject of potential Spike 3 platform rerelease under consideration | | Knapp Arcade | person | Article author and pinball news outlet operator reporting on industry developments | | Paris Pinball Addict | person | Social media personality providing exclusive details on World Pinball and Resident Evil pinball via direct contact with company maker | | Don's Pinball Podcast | organization | Pinball media outlet where speculation about Stern's Spike 3 platform plans recently appeared | | Capcom | company | Video game publisher controlling Resident Evil IP; reportedly following World Pinball's development and validating design | | Spike 3 | product | Stern's new pinball platform featuring larger LCD screens and Expression Lighting support; potentially considered for Godzilla rerelease | ### Topics - **Primary:** Stern product announcements and accessories, New pinball manufacturer emergence (World Pinball), Resident Evil IP licensing in pinball - **Secondary:** Platform technology adoption (Spike 3), Code updates and software development, Limited production runs and FOMO pricing - **Mentioned:** Swiss manufacturing and European supply chains ### Sentiment **Mixed** (0.55) — Cautiously optimistic about new manufacturer and product announcements, but skeptical about World Pinball's credibility as a startup and critical of JAWS 50th topper's minimal design differentiation despite price increase ### Signals - **[business_signal]** New Swiss pinball manufacturer World Pinball entering market with significant manufacturing infrastructure (facilities in Switzerland and France, 95% proprietary parts development) (confidence: high) — Paris Pinball Addict detailed reporting on manufacturing locations, supply chain, and production philosophy - **[product_concern]** Knapp Arcade expresses skepticism about Capcom's rationale for licensing Resident Evil IP to unproven startup manufacturer with minimal production volume (300 units) (confidence: high) — Direct quote: 'I am having a hard time understanding why a major company like Capcom would agree to let a brand new company with no experience making games create one' - **[licensing_signal]** Capcom actively monitoring and validating World Pinball's Resident Evil pinball development, indicating major IP publisher involvement in startup manufacturer project (confidence: high) — Paris Pinball Addict quote: 'Capcom, who follows all this closely' and approval required before final reveal - **[market_signal]** Resident Evil pinball production constrained to 300 units total with 12 ultra-limited character-specific editions, signaling collector-focused scarcity strategy (confidence: high) — Paris Pinball Addict detailing production numbers and special edition structure - **[announcement]** World Pinball announced Resident Evil pinball machine for March 2026 release as flagship product with specific mechanical and production specifications (confidence: high) — Paris Pinball Addict exclusive reporting with direct confirmation from World Pinball maker - **[announcement]** Stern officially revealed JAWS 50th Anniversary limited-production topper with March 2026 shipping window at $1,099 price point (confidence: high) — Knapp Arcade citing Stern's announcement of $1,099 topper pricing and March 2026 availability - **[product_strategy]** JAWS 50th Anniversary topper features minimal design changes (red trim and clear plastic 50th Anniversary sign) over original topper despite $100 price increase (confidence: high) — Knapp Arcade assessment: 'the new 50th Anniversary topper for the game is nothing to write home about' - **[technology_signal]** Stern considering replatforming popular games like Godzilla onto Spike 3 platform to enable larger screens and Expression Lighting (confidence: medium) — Knapp Arcade citing online chatter and Don's Pinball Podcast speculation about Stern's platform strategy --- ## Transcript News Stern Pinball Reveals JAWS 50th Topper; More details on Potential New Pinball Company k knapparcade December 23, 2025 Happy Holidays friends! It's snowing here in New Jersey at the moment and I have a lot of family stuff going on for the holidays, but I wanted to sneak in a quick news update for everyone because there's just so much cool stuff to talk about. Let's kick things off with Stern Pinball. Yesterday afternoon, Stern revealed its new (sort of) topper for its JAWS 50th pinball machine. I love Stern's JAWS. I kind of want to get the 50th Anniversary version of it for my home arcade. Having said that, the new 50th Anniversary topper for the game is nothing to write home about. It's basically the topper for the first version of JAWS with red trim around the Billboard and a clear plastic sign that says "JAWS 50th Anniversary" slammed on the side. As far as I can tell, those are really the only differences. The new 50th topper is available for pre-order now. Stern expects units from its "limited production run" will start shipping in March 2026. The new topper is priced at $1,099, a $100 increase over the price of the original JAWS topper. While we are on the subject of Stern, it's noteworthy that its 2017 Star Wars pinball machine, just received a new code update for the first time in a long time. The new code, Version 1.30 adds support for the new C3PO topper that Stern launched for its new Star Wars: Fall of the Empire pin. As I mentioned in my launch article for the topper the other day, it is compatible with the 2017 game as well. Last up on Stern, there has been a bunch of chatter on-line and most recently on Don's Pinball Podcast that Stern is considering producing a few of its most popular recent titles, such as Godzilla, on its new Spike 3 platform. This would give the game a larger LCD screen and enable Stern to offer things like external Expression Lighting for the games. Will this actually happen? Time will tell. It does make sense considering that Godzilla is Stern's best selling game of all-time and it continues to produce it to this day. Next up, we have a lot of new information about a potential new pinball manufacturer. I'm always a little reluctant to talk about new pinball companies in the early stages of their creation because so many of them have started and gone no where over the years. This potential new manufacturer is called World Pinball. It definitely exists in some form. I've seen the registration files for it. How close they are to making a game is another question entirely. Supposedly World Pinball is working on creating a pinball machine based upon the popular Capcom video game series Resident Evil. There's even a rudimentary website for the game out there: RE: Pinball. First and foremost, let me begin by saying that I wish this company nothing but the best. I love seeing new pinball manufacturers making games. The more pinball, the merrier. I hope that they make many amazing games. Having said that, I am having a hard time understanding why a major company like Capcom would agree to let a brand new company with no experience making games create one based upon the valuable Resident Evil intellectual property as their first machine. Furthermore, the plan to manufacture only 300 of this game wouldn't move the needle at all for a company like Capcom. Having said that, I hope that it does happen and I absolutely will be keeping an eye on things. Here's the latest information on the subject from the pinball social media personality Paris Pinball Addict: So friends, for those who didn't see the show last night, here's some new exclusive info that I share with you regarding the Resident Evil pinball, which is becoming very concrete. The project is progressing well, and I was able to chat directly with its maker yesterday afternoon. The pinball is therefore scheduled for March 2026, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the license. It will be produced by a Swiss company, WP - World Pinball, and it will be the first Swiss pinball in history. Production will take place in France, Burgundy, but not at René Pierre's or Pedretti's (as we've heard recently). The team has set up a new plant, with their own machines. They have premises in Payerne in Switzerland and in Chalon-sur-Saône in France, and the final plant could be planted in Creusot, it's under negotiations. The wood comes from Switzerland, the production aims at high-end quality, with careful varnishing, thermolated body armor, and a real thought into industrial design. Nearly 95% of the parts are developed internally, except for the screen, speakers, amplifier or coils, which come from Europe (France, Switzerland, Germany). Pinball won't be on movies but on video games, and it will include 4 unprecedented innovations in the world of pinball. We're talking about a game with 4 drummers, 5 magnets and 4 metal ramps. In terms of edition, there will be 300 copies for the 30th anniversary, and among them, 12 ultra-limited special editions, one for each member of the S.T.A.R.S team (Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield, Albert Wesker, etc.) ). Each machine will be numbered and bear the character's name, with custom details, and a never-before-seen option in a pinball machine. Finally, on the price side, we'll be in the same range as Stern or Jersey Jack, and the reveal is expected after validation by Capcom, who follows all this closely. Here at the moment, we are still waiting for the first official images, but this Resident Evil pinball looks ambitious, neat, and really a collector. To be continued 🤗 have a good day everyone! 🙏🏻❤️ Since I just talked about a video game in Resident Evil, let's hop over to another video game...this time an iconic arcade game franchise. Happy 30th Anniversary to Namco's Time Crisis. I recently came across a really neat article that commemorates the anniversary: Time Crisis at 30: how peekaboo with guns put cabinet gaming back on target Posted about 2 months ago k About knapparcade Site administrator Comments (1) Please sign in to join the conversation. N NUTSACK WILLIAMS about 2 months ago If you get bit in the nuts do you still turn into a zomby 0 S Spookeye about 2 months ago That depends....mine are in my wife's purse, so I think I would be fine. 0 Related Articles Stern Officially Reveals New Pokémon Pinball Machine 3 days ago Dutch Pinball is NOT Working with Stern to Release Back to the Future 3 days ago Pokémon Reveal Tomorrow?; Beetlejuice Pinball on Location 5 days ago Subscribe to Updates Get the latest pinball news, blog posts, and event announcements delivered to your inbox Subscribe StripeM-Inner _(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 0fdecbea-b144-44cb-8e8c-fa801a48a4df*