Is Stern Pinball Launching Two More New Games in 2023? Potential Year-End Vault?

TL;DR

Stern's 2023 production roadmap hints at Venom (Pro)-Con reveal and potential year-end vault release.

Summary

Key Claims

• Stern Pinball will release a new Cornerstone game in September 2023

  high confidence · Zach Meny via The The The Pinball Show podcast, cited in Knapp Arcade article

• The September Cornerstone game is very likely to be shown at San Diego Comic-Con (July 20-23, 2023)

  high confidence · Knapp Arcade citing production update source

• The Cornerstone game is very strongly rumored to be Venom (Pro)

  medium confidence · Knapp Arcade reporting rumor; not officially confirmed

• Venom is designed by Brian Eddy with art by Zombie Yeti (Jeremy Packer) and coding by Dwight Sullivan

  medium confidence · Rumor reported in Knapp Arcade; design team not officially confirmed

• Stern is moving to a new facility with a factory shutdown scheduled for August 2023

  high confidence · Zach Meny's production update via The The The Pinball Show

• Star Wars (The Mandalorian (Pro)/Premium, Star Wars (Pro)/Premium) production was pushed from December 2023 to 2024

  high confidence · Zach Meny's production update via The The The Pinball Show

• Stern may release a second new game late in 2023, potentially a Vault of an older title or a new Kapow game

  low confidence · Speculation noted in Knapp Arcade article; not from official source

Notable Quotes

• “the machine is very strongly rumored to be Venom (Pro), designed by Brian Eddy with art by Zombie Yeti aka Jeremy Packer (Zombie Yeti) and coding by Dwight Sullivan, with a good chance that the game contains some sort of collaboration with Ozzy Osbourne and Todd McFarlane.”

  [name withheld pending review] — Key rumor about the September Cornerstone game identity and creative team

• “I've been told that it's very likely the game will be shown off at San Diego Comic-Con, which is scheduled to take place Thursday, July 20th through Sunday July 23rd.”

  [name withheld pending review] — Hints at major reveal timing and venue for the Cornerstone game

• “There is a hole in Stern Pinball stated production schedule in November and most of December of this year.”

  Knapp Arcade — Identifies gap that may indicate undisclosed late-year release opportunity

Entities

Signals

• ?

  product_launch: Detailed Stern Pinball 2023 production schedule released via The Pinball Show, mapping shipments through December with facility move in August

  high · Zach Meny's comprehensive production update listing all slated releases by month

• ?

  announcement: Stern Cornerstone game confirmed for September 2023 release with Comic-Con debut planned

  high · Production schedule explicitly lists 'SEPTEMBER 2023: New Cornerstone game' and source material indicates Comic-Con timing

• ?

  rumor_hype: Strong community rumor that September Cornerstone is Marvel's Venom with Ozzy Osbourne and Todd McFarlane collaboration

  medium · Knapp Arcade reports 'very strongly rumored to be Marvel's Venom' with potential collaborators; not officially confirmed

• ?

  event_signal: San Diego Comic-Con (July 20-23, 2023) positioned as venue for Stern Cornerstone game reveal

  high · Source material states game is 'very likely' to be shown at Comic-Con during matching timeframe

• ?

  manufacturing_signal: Stern Pinball conducting factory shutdown in August 2023 for relocation to new facility

  high · Production schedule explicitly includes 'AUGUST 2023: Factory Shutdown for Move to new Facility'

• ?

  product_strategy: Star Wars themed machines (Mandalorian, Star Wars lines) shifted from December 2023 to 2024 production