# George Gomez Replaced Steve Ritchie as Designer on Upcoming Stern Pinball Machine **Source:** Knapp Arcade **Type:** article **Published:** 2022-05-23 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/george-gomez-replaced-steve-ritchie-as-designer-on-upcoming-stern-pinball-machine --- ## Analysis George Gomez has taken over design duties on an upcoming Stern Pinball machine after Steve Ritchie's departure to Jersey Jack Pinball. The previous work on this licensed title has been scrapped. The new Gomez-designed game is expected in 2023 and will feature three flippers, differing from his recent two-flipper designs. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Steve Ritchie's work on an upcoming Stern Pinball machine has been scrapped due to his departure to Jersey Jack Pinball — _Confirmed by George Gomez in Super Awesome Pinball Show podcast interview Part 2_ - [HIGH] George Gomez has taken over the design process for the licensed title Ritchie was working on — _George Gomez interview confirmation, paralleling his takeover of Deadpool design_ - [MEDIUM] The upcoming George Gomez-designed game is expected in 2023 — _Article states 'probably some time in 2023' based on interview context_ - [HIGH] The new Gomez game will feature three flippers, unlike most of his recent designs — _George Gomez confirmed in extended interview portion referenced in UPDATE section_ ### Notable Quotes > "George Gomez took over the design process for the license that Steve Ritchie was working on for Stern." > — **Article author (Knapp Arcade)** > _Directly confirms the personnel transition and design takeover_ > "we have a new Gomez-designed pinball machine from stern to look forward to in the future, probably some time in 2023." > — **Article author (Knapp Arcade)** > _Establishes timeline expectation for the new machine_ > "the upcoming George Gomez game will have three flippers, unlike most of his recent designs that only have two." > — **Article author (Knapp Arcade)** > _Identifies a notable design characteristic differentiating this game from recent Gomez work_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | George Gomez | person | Chief Creative Officer at Stern Pinball; designer taking over upcoming machine previously assigned to Steve Ritchie | | Steve Ritchie | person | Stern Pinball designer who left the company for Jersey Jack Pinball; his in-progress design work was scrapped | | Stern Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer whose upcoming licensed game is being redesigned by Gomez after Ritchie's departure | | Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Competitor manufacturer that recruited Steve Ritchie from Stern | | Deadpool | game | Previous Stern Pinball machine designed by George Gomez; precedent for his takeover of projects from departing designers | | World Cup Soccer | game | Pinball machine referenced as personal property that article author sold to his brother Jordan | | Super Awesome Pinball Show | organization | Podcast that published the interview with George Gomez where this news was confirmed | | Knapp Arcade | company | Source of this article; operator/collector with social media presence in pinball community | | Jordan | person | Article author's younger brother who recently passed away; e-commerce/internet pioneer who helped build Knapp Arcade's social media presence | ### Topics - **Primary:** Designer personnel transitions and design takeovers, Stern Pinball upcoming machine pipeline - **Secondary:** George Gomez design philosophy and flipper configurations, Jersey Jack Pinball competitive recruitment - **Mentioned:** Licensing and IP for upcoming Stern games ### Sentiment **Neutral** (0) — Article is factual reporting with personal tribute to the author's brother. No emotional valence attached to the pinball industry news itself. ### Signals - **[competitive_signal]** Jersey Jack Pinball successfully recruited Stern Pinball designer Steve Ritchie, triggering design scrap and reassignment at competitor (confidence: high) — Confirmed Ritchie departure and subsequent Gomez takeover of his project - **[design_philosophy]** George Gomez applying three-flipper configuration to upcoming game, deviating from his recent two-flipper design trend (confidence: high) — Extended interview portion confirmed three-flipper design for the new Gomez machine - **[personnel_signal]** Steve Ritchie's departure from Stern Pinball to Jersey Jack Pinball triggered design reassignment, with George Gomez taking over the in-progress licensed machine project (confidence: high) — George Gomez confirmation in Super Awesome Pinball Show podcast interview Part 2 - **[product_strategy]** New George Gomez-designed Stern machine expected to release approximately in 2023 (confidence: medium) — Article states 'probably some time in 2023' based on Gomez interview context --- ## Transcript Hi everyone. As you could tell, I haven't made any posts here at Knapp Arcade in a week or so. Early last week, my family very unexpectedly and tragically lost my younger brother. I've spent the past week or so processing everything and helping to take care of his personal affairs. Yesterday was the funeral so that aspect of the process is over. Vecennia Jordan was an e-commerce and Internet pioneer. He personally played a large role in helping make the Knapp Arcade social media pages as popular as they are today. I want to make sure that I keep things going here with these pages to continue that legacy. He and I always had a fun time playing pinball whenever we got together. Jord was very proud that he routinely was able to kick my butt on the World Cup Soccer pinball machine that I used to own after I sold it to him. Rest in Peace, Vecennia Jordan. I miss you pal. That's all that I have to say about that. So here's a small, yet very interesting piece of news to get us back in the swing of things. A few days ago, the folks at The Super Awesome Pinball show podcast published part two of their fantastic interview with Stern Pinball's Chief Creative Officer, George Gomez. I'm still listening to it and may find more interesting bits of information to share here later, but one thing that really stood out to me in the interview was the confirmation of the rumor that the work for the upcoming pinball machine that Steve Ritchie was working on for Stern when he left the company for Jersey Jack Pinball has been scrapped. Much like when he designed his last amazing pin Deadpool (I just bought one myself and have a George-autographed translite), George Gomez took over the design process for the license that Steve Ritchie was working on for Stern. So, we have a new Gomez-designed pinball machine from stern to look forward to in the future, probably some time in 2023. UPDATE: OK, I've gotten further into the interview and another interesting piece of news is that the upcoming George Gomez game will have three flippers, unlike most of his recent designs that only have two. Here's a link to Part 2 of the Super Awesome Pinball Show Interview with George Gomez: https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/23182166?fbclid=IwAR3dXAsiVNT8DyxLXb29nxc4V0oyp5Ew5EuJ696thHn_C6iyWDtDz769EC0 Stern Pinball's George Gomez (Source: Wikipedia) A picture of my brother and I from Christmas _(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: f37e7a5e-6c44-411d-a2f3-dc745f5d62b5*