Leaked Cheddar

This Week in Pinball·article·analyzed·May 15, 2026

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.025

TL;DR

Stern leaks own Transformers reveal; World Pinball prices Resident Evil premium edition.

Summary

Stern officially announced Transformers pinball (G1 cartoon-based, code name: Cheddar) but immediately leaked playfield/translite photos via the Insider Connected app due to a multi-platform content management oversight. World Pinball revealed pricing and premium features (haptic feedback, vibrating platform) for their upcoming Resident Evil machine. Pedretti confirmed a long-rumored Tales of the Arabian Night remake, and TWIP launched ad-free browsing for paid subscribers.

Key Claims

Transformers pinball is based on the early G1 cartoon and features Peter Cullen
high confidence · Stern official teaser trailer and TWIP analysis
Stern accidentally leaked Transformers playfield and translite photos via Insider Connected app less than an hour after official trailer
high confidence · TWIP reporter observation and attribution to Stern content management error
World Pinball Resident Evil Collector's Edition prices at $22,353.64 USD (100 units) and Limited Edition at $21,164.12 USD (400 units), excluding VAT
high confidence · TWIP reporting on World Pinball pricing announcement
World Pinball Resident Evil will include haptic feedback flipper buttons and a vibrating platform peripheral
medium confidence · TWIP reporting on World Pinball feature details, noting translation interpretation
Tales of the Arabian Night of the Arabian Night remake will be priced around $10,000–$11,000 with two trim levels
high confidence · TWIP official confirmation report
Elizabeth Gieske is serving as Elizabeth Gieske on Transformers, her first role as lead coder
high confidence · Stern credits leaked via Insider Connected app
Stern manages content across at least four platforms: SternPinball.com, shop.sternpinball.com, Insider Connected app, and Webflow landing pages
high confidence · TWIP reporter analysis of Stern's content management infrastructure
Stern media day is scheduled for January 20th, with dealer/distributor day on January 19th
high confidence · TWIP reporting on upcoming Stern event schedule

Notable Quotes

“No, this was 100% a Stern goop. Not even an hour after the trailer dropped, people noticed playfield and translite photos were live on the Insider Connected app. Oops.”
[name withheld pending review] — Captures the unexpected self-leak and its immediacy; sets tone for analysis of Stern's content management problems
“That's a lot of spinning plates, and when you're updating all of them multiple times (teaser, then full reveal) with the need to preview staged assets before flipping the switch… it's kind of amazing this hasn't happened before.”
[name withheld pending review] — Explains the root cause of the leak as a systemic content management complexity issue rather than individual error
“Following Dust-up with Team Pinball, it feels good to be talking about new games!”
[name withheld pending review] — Signals relief returning to positive coverage after industry dispute; frames industry relationships as volatile
“So while the game is quite expensive (and it's always risky taking a chance on an unproven pinball manufacturer), World Pinball does seem to be taking some interesting swings with this title. I'm keeping an open mind, at least.”
[name withheld pending review] — Balanced skepticism about World Pinball's premium pricing and risk profile, but acknowledgment of innovation

Entities

Stern PinballcompanyTransformers (Stern)gameInsider Connectedproduct World PinballcompanyResident Evil (World Pinball)gamePedretticompanyTales of the Arabian Nightsgame Elizabeth Gieskeperson

Signals

?
announcement: Stern officially confirmed Transformers pinball via teaser trailer, based on G1 cartoon with Peter Cullen attached
high · Stern teaser trailer dropped Wednesday; TWIP confirms official confirmation
?
leak_detection: Stern accidentally leaked Transformers playfield and translite artwork via Insider Connected app less than one hour after official teaser trailer
high · TWIP reporter observation: 'Not even an hour after the trailer dropped, people noticed playfield and translite photos were live on the Insider Connected app'
?
manufacturing_signal: Stern manages content across at least four separate platforms (WordPress, Shopify, custom app, Webflow), creating coordination overhead and risk in multi-stage reveal campaigns
high · TWIP reporter detailed analysis of Stern's content infrastructure: 'four different platforms...SternPinball.com (Wordpress), shop.sternpinball.com (Shopify), Insider Connected (custom app), and a new landing page system (Webflow)'
?
product_launch: Stern Transformers machine scheduled for dealer/distributor day January 19th and media day January 20th with full coverage planned
high · TWIP reporting: 'Dealers and distributors head to Stern on the 19th, media on the 20th. We'll have our own coverage from Media Day.'
?
machine_intel: Transformers features Soundwave physical ball lock (balls launch from cassette door for multiball), optical Energon spinner, Megatron cannon shooting into left catch basin
high · Leaked playfield details via Insider Connected app

Transcript

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This Week in Pinball has been busy. Stern teases Transformers, then leaks it themselves (code name: Cheddar). Plus, new teases from Pedretti and World Pinball, and Paul Melio's debut feature on Pinforge. Pinball News of the Week Stern Teases (and Promptly Leaks) Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye On Wednesday, Stern officially confirmed the heavily rumored Transformers pinball machine with a (mostly) standard teaser trailer. Like typical Stern teasers, we don't learn a whole lot beyond the theme and a few nuggets — in this case, that the game is based on the early Transformers cartoon (I'm gonna say G1, though I'm admittedly not up to snuff on my Transformers lore), and that Peter Cullen seems to be attached. Separately, the "Buy for your Home" and "Play on Location" calls to action at the end of the clip caught my eye. They appear to be new for Stern. Then, photos of the game promptly leaked. Unlike past Stern leaks, this wasn't sourced back to a loose-lipped distributor or employee. No, this was 100% a Stern goof. Not even an hour after the trailer dropped, people noticed playfield and translite photos were live on the Insider Connected app. Oops. It's kind of easy from where I sit to speculate on how this probably happened. Last time I looked into it, Stern was updating web content across no fewer than four different platforms (yikes): SternPinball.com (Wordpress), shop.sternpinball.com (Shopify), Insider Connected (custom app), and a new landing page system (Webflow, which we used to use!). I'm sure there's other stuff too, like whatever CMS powers their email list. That's a lot of spinning plates, and when you're updating all of them multiple times (teaser, then full reveal) with the need to preview staged assets before flipping the switch… it's kind of amazing this hasn't happened before. A few things we know post-leak: Soundwave physical ball lock — balls launch from his cassette door for multiball Optical "Energon" spinner Megatron cannon that shoots balls into the catch basin on the left side of the playfield Optimus Prime, despite looking like it could/should transform, apparently does not Lead Programmer: Elizabeth Gieske (her first as lead coder) Lead Mechanical: Rob Blakeman Lead LCD Artist: Tom Kyzivat Expect to see more next week. Dealers and distributors head to Stern on the 19th, media on the 20th. We'll have our own coverage from Media Day. We Rebuilt Kineticist — And Paid TWIP Members Get Ad-Free Browsing The new Kineticist has been live for a few weeks, and one of the features we shipped in the rebuild is ad-free browsing for paid TWIP subscribers. Every article, every page, no ads. If you've been paying for TWIP, you already earned this. Here's how to turn it on: Link it to your TWIP subscription from your profile Browse ad-free for as long as your subscription is active Not a paid member yet? TWIP is free to read but not free to write — a paid subscription starts at $25/year, unlocks ad-free Kineticist, exclusive content, our Discord, and helps keep an independent pinball publication running. Most people join at $60/year. More Details Surface on World Pinball’s Resident Evil Since sharing a new teaser for the upcoming Resident Evil game from upstart Swiss manufacturer World Pinball, we've learned a few new details. The big one is pricing. A 100-unit Collector's Edition clocks in at $22,353.64 USD (or 17,475 CHF), and the 400-unit Limited Edition runs $21,164.12 (or 16,545 CHF). Both prices exclude Swiss VAT and add-ons. Speaking of add-ons, we also got a few tidbits about the planned features and upgrades. What is it, you may ask? A platform that players stand on. And not just any old platform. This one hooks up to the machine and vibrates at key moments, like a triggered explosion or something similar. The game will also have an option for what I'm dubbing haptic-feedback flipper buttons, where the flipper controls vibrate for things like left- or right-side zombie bites. All together, it’s supposed to simulate a 3D vibration effect. Finally, it sounds like there will be a mini-playfield (reading between the translated lines, probably a lower playfield) with a special video mode that involves an on-playfield camera. So while the game is quite expensive (and it's always risky taking a chance on an unproven pinball manufacturer), World Pinball does seem to be taking some interesting swings with this title. I'm keeping an open mind, at least. Pedretti Teases Rumored Tales of the Arabian Nights Remake Following Dust-up with Team Pinball Boy, it feels good to be talking about new games! On Tuesday, Pedretti officially confirmed their long-rumored Tales of the Arabian Nights remake. We have all the details in our write-up, but expect to see the game in two trim levels and priced around $10,000–$11,000. There are also rumors of one or more copies showing up at the Golden State Pinball Festival this weekend. An Update on Team Pinball v. Pedretti Speaking of Pedretti, last week we briefly mentioned the public spat between Pedretti and their former software/engineering vendors, Team Pinball. I was hoping to have a more detailed article this week following conversations with representatives from both companies. After those conversations, though, I really don't have enough concrete information for a full piece — both parties mostly declined to elaborate further. All told, it sounds like a fairly routine business dispute (and, currently, a one-sided account at that). Homebrew and You Excited to welcome Paul Melio to the Kineticist team with his first piece — a banger of a feature on the homebrew collective Pinforge and how it ties into the broader homebrew-to-pro pipeline in pinball. Paul talks with the Pinforge crew, plus Aaron Davis (FAST Pinball), J Bryan Vincent (American Pinball), and Mark Seiden (Jersey Jack Pinball).