ENDER’S GAME REVEALED

Pinball News Website·article·analyzed·Jul 27, 2026

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 (batch) · $0.020

TL;DR

Multimorphic announces Ender's Game P3 with shared playfield design and psychological Balance Mech mechanic.

Summary

Multimorphic revealed Ender's Game, a science fiction P3 pinball machine based on Orson Scott Card's novel, sharing the same playfield design as the simultaneously-released Dungeon Crawler Carl but with distinct rules, art, and audio. The game features a central 'Balance Mech' representing protagonist Ender's psychology through dual ball stackers symbolizing his siblings Valentine (compassion) and Peter (aggression), priced at $11,750 for full machines and $4,400 for kits, with production planned for late 2026.

Key Claims

Ender's Game shares the same playfield and mechanism design with Dungeon Crawler Carl, but is otherwise a very different game with its own design team, artwork, sounds, music, graphics, rules and callouts.
high confidence · Pinball News announcement article, first paragraph
The playfield design was originally developed for Ender's Game, with Dungeon Crawler Carl being developed separately but in parallel, until similarities led to unification into a single design.
high confidence · Official announcement; quoted explanation from Gerry Stellenberg
Ender's Game is priced at $11,750 for a fully-branded P3 machine and $4,400 for the game kit for existing P3 owners.
high confidence · Official pricing statement in article
Production of Ender's Game is currently planned for late 2026.
high confidence · Official production timeline statement
The game goes through the entirety of the Ender's Game book story and will end upon completion, similar to other P3 games.
high confidence · Gerry Stellenberg quote about story completion
Multimorphic chose to develop all assets from scratch rather than use the 2013 movie, believing the movie did not capture the story the way they wanted to tell it.
high confidence · Gerry Stellenberg statement on source material selection
Ender's Game was designed with kids in mind and is more family-friendly than Dungeon Crawler Carl, with children voicing many of the characters.
high confidence · Gerry Stellenberg quote
Current lead time for full P3 machines is 10-12 weeks, but new game releases typically bring a flood of orders that can extend that time significantly.
high confidence · Gerry Stellenberg statement on production lead times
The Balance Mech holds up to 6 balls on each side (12 balls total), with individual balls transferable between sides to represent Ender's psychological balance between Valentine's compassion and Peter's aggression.

Notable Quotes

“We originally planned for two separate designs for these games, but when we got into the details, we realized we were discussing similar physical feature concepts for both. Once we proposed the idea for a dual release on the same design, we had immediate buy-in from both teams. It made perfect sense.”
Gerry Stellenberg — Explains the decision-making process behind the simultaneous dual release of Ender's Game and Dungeon Crawler Carl on a shared playfield design.
“This is my ultimate dream theme, but a few of us know the theme really well, and the rest did their homework. As far as theme integration goes, that is the job of our creative directors, and Stephen Silver and Josh Kugler and did a fantastic job of making sure we delivered a game that nailed the theme.”
Gerry Stellenberg — Indicates Gerry's personal passion for Ender's Game as a theme and explains Multimorphic's collaborative design philosophy.
“Absolutely. Ender's Game is a book many of us first discovered as kids, and while it covers some dark topics it's generally appropriate for kids. We've designed the game with kids in mind, even having children voice many of the characters.”
Gerry Stellenberg — Clarifies the family-friendly positioning of Ender's Game versus the adult-oriented Dungeon Crawler Carl.
“Correct – as many movies based off of books don't deliver the full impact of those books, we felt this movie didn't capture the story the way we wanted to tell it. We see the characters and events of Ender's Game as they were described in the book.”
Gerry Stellenberg — Explains why Multimorphic chose book source material over the 2013 film adaptation, indicating a commitment to thematic accuracy.
“It was a huge challenge, but we developed everything from scratch. Brad (Albright) took the lead on creating the characters and environments, and Glenn (Waechter), Aaron (Williams), and Paul (Farrer) created an amazing audio package with futuristic / high-tech sounds and music that connects perfectly with Ender's (and therefore the player's) emotions as the game progresses.”
Gerry Stellenberg — Details the creative effort required to develop custom assets and music that reinforce emotional gameplay aligned with the protagonist's psychological journey.

Entities

MultimorphiccompanyEnder's GamegameOrson Scott CardpersonGerry Stellenbergperson Stephen Silverperson Josh Kuglerperson Brad Albrightperson

Signals

?
machine_intel: Official announcement of Ender's Game P3 pinball machine on July 27, 2026 with full technical specifications, pricing, and production timeline
high · Comprehensive official reveal article with playfield details, pricing ($11,750 full / $4,400 kit), and late 2026 production start
?
design_innovation: The 'Balance Mech' dual ball stacker system that represents protagonist Ender's psychological balance between siblings Valentine (compassion/left) and Peter (aggression/right), with gameplay consequences tied to stacker state
high · Detailed mechanical description and Gerry Stellenberg's explanation of how ball transfers between stackers influence gameplay and represent narrative character dynamics
?
product_strategy: Multimorphic released two distinct games (Ender's Game and Dungeon Crawler Carl) simultaneously on the same shared playfield hardware design, representing first dual release of this kind for the company
high · Gerry Stellenberg quote: 'Once we proposed the idea for a dual release on the same design, we had immediate buy-in from both teams' and article stating games share playfield but differ in art/rules/audio
?
design_philosophy: Multimorphic chose to develop all Ender's Game assets from scratch using the novel as source material rather than licensing the 2013 film, believing the book better captured the narrative they wanted to tell
high · Gerry Stellenberg: 'as many movies based off of books don't deliver the full impact of those books, we felt this movie didn't capture the story the way we wanted to tell it'
?

Transcript

web_scrape · $0.000

HomeENDER'S GAMEENDER’S GAME REVEALED Date: July 27th, 2026 Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game is the second game revealed today by Multimorphic. It shares the same playfield and mechanism design with Dungeon Crawler Carl, but is otherwise a very different game, having its own design team, artwork, sounds, music, graphics, rules and callouts. The playfield design was originally developed for Ender’s Game – as we shall call it from now on – with Dungeon Crawler Carl being developed separately but in parallel, until the similarities of the physical requirements for the two titles led to them being unified into a single design. Ender’s Game is another science fiction story, this time written by American writer Orson Scott Card and first published as a short story in 1977. Like Dungeon Crawler Carl, Ender’s Game depicts a battle between the inhabitants of Earth and an alien force. The story is set after two narrowly failed attempts at invasion by an insectoid species known as Buggers and follows the progress of Andrew ‘Ender’ Wiggins as, alongside his supportive sister Valentine and antagonistic brother Peter, he develops his personal and tactical leadership skills to become an elite officer in Earth’s International Fleet defence force as it prepares for an inevitable third invasion attempt. Starting when he is just six years old, Ender’s success in defeating a school bully marks him out as having exceptional skills which could prove invaluable in defending the planet. So it proves. After attending Battle School, at age ten he is promoted to off-Earth Command School where he excels at numerous simulated battle scenarios on his way to becoming a fleet commander. Published as a full-length novel in 1985, Ender’s Game is poignant in its depiction of Ender’s conflicting emotions which run throughout the story and find their way into pinball’s gameplay too. !The backbox title for Ender's Game The backbox title for Ender’s Game As usual with Multimorphic releases, Ender’s Game is available as either a fully-branded P3 machine with game-specific artwork on the cabinet, backbox and speaker panel, or as a kit for existing P3 owners. The full Ender’s Game P3 machine is priced at $11, 750 while the game kit for existing P3 owners costs $4, 400. This is how the full Ender’s Game artwork package looks. !The left side view of the Ender's Game cabinet artwork The left side view of the Ender’s Game cabinet artwork !The right right Brad Albright created the entire art package for Ender’s Game. He previously created the art for Multimorphic’s Portal game, before working for Barrels of Fun on their Winchester Mystery House. Brad has also created the playfield artwork for Multimorphic’s other new release, Dungeon Crawler Carl. While the cabinet artwork for that game is by Luciano Fleitas, Brad’s experience using the same physical design in Ender’s Game made him a natural choice to create the playfield art for that title too. !Left side Ender's Game cabinet artwork Left side Ender’s Game cabinet artwork !Right side Ender's Game cabinet artwork Right side Ender’s Game cabinet artwork !Backbox sides and cabinet front Ender's Game artwork Backbox sides and cabinet front Ender’s Game artwork So, let’s take a look at the playfield for Ender’s Game. !The playfield design for Ender's Game The playfield design for Ender’s Game The upper playfield module for Ender’s Game is more open and visible than the sculpt-clad Dungeon Crawler Carl module. If you haven’t yet checked out that game, head over to our Dungeon Crawler Carl article for more about the design and the processes behind the title’s creation. Ender’s Game doesn’t feature any sculpts, relying instead on display and plastics artwork to depict the main characters. !The Ender's Game upper playfield module The Ender’s Game upper playfield module Starting at the bottom left, there is a left orbit lane which goes all the way around the back and exits into the right orbit lane. Next to that are two illuminated standup targets which sit below the end of a ramp with a magnet. !The ball grabber and accelerator magnet The ball grabber and accelerator magnet This magnet can grab the ball when certain battles begin and then fling it off the ramp’s end towards the upper right flipper. Alternatively, the magnet can be used to accelerate the ball’s velocity off the end of the ramp, providing a faster, more reliable feed to the upper flipper. The left ramp feeds onto a wireform which runs down the right side of the playfield, onto the clear plastic ball guide and into the right inlane. The centre ramp is a 180 degree turn (a.k.a. reverse-o-matic) which turns into a wireform. This points down the centre and sends the ball over the top surface of the disk and, usually, down to the left inlane. In the very centre is a scoop with an upkicker which is protected by a drop target and flanked by standup targets. !The centre scoop with the drop target in the down position The ball is ejected from this upkicker into one of two ball stackers on the left and right. !The centre scoop upkicker feeds the two ball stackers The In Ender’s Game, the two ball stackers are integrated into ruleset as representations of Valentine’s empathetic character (left stacker) and Peter’s much more sociopathic nature (right). !The left (Valentine) and right (Peter) ball stackers The left (Valentine) and right (Peter) ball stackers Accordingly, the left stacker ejects the balls gently, while the right one violently expels them. Keeping these two either in balance or weighted more towards one character or the other is an important aspect of the gameplay. The centre right lane is a shallow ramp which can either feeds the grab magnet on the raised ramp, or a diverter can send the ball back down the right orbit lane to the upper right flipper. Next to that is the right lane which always U-turns into the right orbit lane. The Fight Ring is next, which starts closed with a bank of three illuminated standup targets on the front edge which, when completed, cause the cover to lift up, exposing the Fight Ring arena. !The Fight Ring The Fight Ring This is where Ender fights and attempts to defeat his personal enemies. The area consists of six round standup targets with a central player-controlled disruptor magnet, allowing the ball to be flung around to complete all six targets. While it is possible to simply take part in a fight, destroying your opponent is key to preventing future fights and building your character. The right orbit lane exits onto a short wireform which joins the centre ramp’s wireform and feeds onto the top surface of the disk. !The right orbit feeds to a wireform which sends the ball down the centre onto the top of the disk The ball can then, depending on the position of the disk, be diverted to the inlanes or be sent to the disk’s cannon to be fired by the player at their selected shot. As with all P3 modules, at the bottom is the familiar row of six illuminated wall targets and six pop-up scoops. !The Ender's Game upper playfield module The Ender’s Game upper playfield module Then we have the biggest single mechanism in the game – the disk. !The disk The disk This is a clear acrylic disk suspended over the playfield and is rotated by a stepper motor. The disk is held in place by grooved bearings around the edge, while an arm carries the cabling for the motor, switches, solenoid and LEDs. There is a clear ball guide on the top surface which directs balls fed to it by the central wireform, sending them to the inlanes or into the cannon assembly. !The entrance to load the cannon The entrance to load the cannon The cannon is one of the features on the underside of the disk. Once a ball is loaded into the cannon, the disk rotates to either allow the game fire the ball towards a required shot or, at other times, allow the player to choose their shot and fire the ball themselves. !The cannon on the underside of the disk The cannon and illuminated standup target on the underside of the disk Also on the underside of the disk is a curved bank of illuminated standup targets. The front of this bank can be shot like a regular bank of standups, but the curved rear is a ball guide which can be rotated to direct the ball towards specific shots in the upper part of the playfield. The outer of the disk is illuminated by a ring of RGB LEDs. Including the standup target lighting and general illumination, there is a total of 183 RGB LEDs mounted in the disk. As the disk can rotate freely to any angle in any direction, the individual devices mounted on it can’t be hardwired to the rest of the game as the cabling from the arm would soon become twisted. Instead, there are slip rings built into the hub which carry the power and control signals to ensure everything stays connected. Further down the playfield, another new feature has been added to the existing hardware to give extra functionality. !The new slingshot actuators now include ball stoppers The new slingshot actuators now include ball stoppers This simple change adds small posts to the armatures which control the slingshots. When a slingshot is activated, the armature is pulled down and the post moves into the inlane, blocking the ball. As long as the slingshot is energised, the ball is held in the inlane. This can be used to hold it during a mode introduction, to help the player align their shots, or longer term as a ball lock. The P3‘s display area is criss-crossed by a grid of IR LEDs which track the ball movements. This array can be used to identify when a ball is being held in the inlane without the need for any additional physical or optical switches. These passive inlane blockers can be retrofitted to earlier P3 machines by simply replacing the slingshot armatures. To discover more about Ender’s Game and the co-release with Dungeon Crawler Carl, Pinball News spoke to Multimorphic head, Gerry Stellenberg. We started by asking about that simultaneous release of two different titles. While the idea of releasing new games for existing P3 playfield modules is a well-established practice, launching two games created from the same basic design is a first for Multimorphic. How, we asked, did this idea develop? Gerry told us, “ We originally planned for two separate designs for these games, but when we got into the details, we realized we were discussing similar physical feature concepts for both. Once we proposed the idea for a dual release on the same design, we had immediate buy-in from both teams. It made perfect sense.” Developing two games in parallel might appear to stretch the design teams, but Gerry explained how they typically have separate teams working on the current and the next releases. He said, “ While a few of us have worked on almost all of our games, the bulk of a game development team usually works on every other game, as the development cycles of multiple games overlap. That’s still the case here, but the teams are basically running in lockstep.“ Each new title typically has what has been termed a ‘Lead Game Designer’ – a leading team member and uber-fan of the theme who ensures every game element remains true to the theme. We asked who that was for Ender’s Game and how, with so much source material, they decided which characters to include in the game. Gerry told us that the company typically eschews titles like ‘Game Designer’ because every aspect of their games are the result of contributions from the whole team. He said, “ This is my ultimate dream theme, but a few of us know the theme really well, and the rest did their homework. As far as theme integration goes, that is the job of our creative directors, and Stephen Silver and Josh Kugler and did a fantastic job of making sure we delivered a game that nailed the theme.” The other title released today, while having the ability to bleep the swearing in the callouts, is certainly an adult theme. So, we asked, is Ender’s Game the more family-friendly title? Gerry certainly believes so. He told us, “ Absolutely. Ender’s Game is a book many of us first discovered as kids, and while it covers some dark topics it’s generally appropriate for kids. We’ve designed the game with kids in mind, even having children voice many of the characters.“ Although it is best known as a novel, there was also a 2013 movie of the book starring Asa Butterfield and Harrison Ford, which would have provided many of the audio and video assets pinball games require these days. The team, though, opted to stay with the book as their source, as Gerry confirmed. “ Correct – as many movies based off of books don’t deliver the full impact of those books, we felt this movie didn’t capture the story the way we wanted to tell it. We see the characters and events of Ender’s Game as they were described in the book.“ That choice obviously impacted on the quantity of assets the team needed to develop themselves. “ It was a huge challenge, but we developed everything from scratch. Brad (Albright) took the lead on creating the characters and environments, and Glenn (Waechter), Aaron (Williams), and Paul (Farrer) created an amazing audio package with futuristic / high-tech sounds and music that connects perfectly with Ender’s (and therefore the player’s) emotions as the game progresses.“ Did, we asked, the author, Orson Scott Card, have any involvement in the approval of the assets? Gerry explained, “ We asked him up front for some guidance (which he gave) while also making it clear we knew the source material extremely well. He basically let us run with our ideas, offering quick approvals throughout the process.“ The two games released today look very different. This, in part, is because Dungeon Crawler Carl has four character sculpts and a large central dungeon sculpt, whereas Ender’s Game doesn’t feature any sculpted characters or environments. We asked why this is. Gerry told us, “Dungeon Crawler Carl is heavily focused on the characters and environments, and there’s a lot of wonderful published artwork showing many of the characters in ways we now just expect to see them. So, sculpts representing some of those characters and the dungeon wall fit into your mind’s eye of the story really well. Ender’s Game is more focused on the coming of age story and the psychological struggles Ender encounters throughout the story. So, we leaned heavily into that instead of a specific set of items that wouldn’t really carry much weight visually.” It’s clear that the two ball stackers are much more visible and work very differently in this game. Together, they are referred to as the ‘Balance Mech’. Gerry explained the mechanism’s role in the game. “ The Balance Mech represents Ender’s psychology. The left side represents his sister Valentine’s compassion. The right side represents his brother Peter’s aggression. Ender is the perfect commander because he’s the perfect balance of his brother and sister. Balls are added to the mech by a center VUK. Up to 6 balls can be loaded into each side (therefore 12 balls total in the mech), and individual balls can be transferred from one side to the other, regardless of how many are on each side. Further, the right side has a cannon (like Final Resistance ) that can aggressively (because… Peter) fire balls out into play, and the left side has a softer (because… Valentine) release mechanism that can release a ball forwards into play or backwards into a hole that goes into the P3‘s ball trough. During gameplay, the player will want to sometimes transfer more balls to the Valentine side in order to collect friends (which of course requires compassion) and other times to the Peter side to win fights (which of course require aggression). During battles, the player will want to balance the mech with equal numbers on each side, representing the perfect commander. In that way, the state of the Balance Mech has constant influence on the game, and the player is incentivized to add balls and move them back and forth to optimize gameplay.“ After the final battle, the book is fairly open ended. So, we asked, how far does the game go through the story? Gerry told us, “ We don’t want to spoil anything about the story for those who haven’t read it, but the game goes through the entirety of the book.“ And when you reach the end? “ Keeping in mind the previous statement about not spoiling the story, the game will end, just as many other P3 games end when you complete the story.“ Multimorphic have released a promo video for Ender’s Game which you can watch here: https://youtu.be/YkOB05jwjhQ Here are the full game credits: | | | --- | | Creative Director: Stephen Silver and Josh Kugler Rules: Colin MacAlpine Mechanicals: TJ Weaver and Trey Jones Music: Aaron Williams and Paul Farrer Sound Design: Glenn Waechter Software: Josh Kugler, Steve Shoyer, and Ian Harrower Artist: Brad Albright Technical Artist: Rory Cernuda Animations: Stephen Silver and Rory Cernuda Voices: Glenn Waechter, Tyson and Eli Silver | | | Production of Ender’s Game is currently planned for late 2026. Once production begins, orders for full machines and game kits will be fulfilled in parallel. Gerry told us that the current lead time for full P3 machines is 10-12 weeks, but new game releases typically bring in a flood of new orders which can extend that time quite significantly. The upcoming Pinball News and Pinball Magazine PIN cast, which looks back to events in the pinball world throughout July, plans to feature an interview with Gerry, Stephen and Brad about the two new Multimorphic releases. Check that out when it is published at the start of August, catch it here in our PIN cast library, or subscribe to the Pinball Industry News PIN cast through your favourite podcast supplier to automatically get notified when it becomes available. - Related Articles - More By Pinball News - More In ENDER'S GAME - !Multimorphic's new P3 game, Dungeon Crawler Carl DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL REVEALED Multimorphic have today reveal not just one, but two new titles, with the first being Dung… 5 minutes ago - !The Armory in Maryville, TN PINSPOTTING JULY 2026 Our opening weekend visit to The Armory of Maryville TN, a new 10 million dollar multi-ent… 7 hours ago - !June 2026 PINcast JUNE 2026 PINCAST Things are certainly heating up in the pinball market, and it’s not just because summer’s … 3 weeks ago Load More Related Articles - !Multimorphic's new P3 game, Dungeon Crawler Carl 5 minutes - !Sonic the Hedgehog from Jersey Jack Pinball SONIC THE HEDGEHOG REVEALED Jersey Jack Pinball today revealed their twelfth release, the Steve Ritchie designed Sonic… 23rd June, 2026 Load More By Pinball News Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published.Required fields are marked \ Comment \ Name \ Email \ Website Δ Check Also © Text, images and other media are copyright of Pinball News and may not be used without written permission. 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