Transformers by Stern Pinball: A WAR Under Glass

Kineticist·article·analyzed·May 23, 2026

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.030

TL;DR

Stern reveals Transformers pinball: Autobots vs. Decepticons, designed by Eismin, emphasizing accessible fun with competitive depth.

Summary

Stern Pinball officially revealed Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye at its Elk Grove Village headquarters, a cornerstone release designed by Elliot Eismin and programmed by Elizabeth Gieske based on the original 1980s cartoon and 1986 film. The game features Autobots vs. Decepticons gameplay with a packed playfield, approachable design philosophy balancing casual and competitive appeal, and robust code developed over 18 months with input from subject matter expert Mike Kyzivat. The reveal included hands-on play by top competitive players who praised its clear objectives, accessible multiball mechanics, and strong risk-reward design, with additional features locked behind the Insider Connected system at launch.

Key Claims

Transformers development began in January 2025 as official kickoff, with approximately 18 months of prior work
high confidence · Elliot Eismin, speaking at Stern's media day reveal, stated 'We started in January [2025]' referring to official kickoff
Stern secured license from Hasbro for original cartoon series and 1986 film, providing clear licensing path unlike James Bond 007
high confidence · Article states license was secured from Hasbro for original cartoon and 1986 movie; contrasts with 007's multi-film licensing complexity
Elliot Eismin served as lead playfield designer with John Wick (2024) being his first lead design credit
high confidence · Article: 'Eismin engineered games for Stern starting with 2015's WWE Wrestlemania through James Bond 007 (2022), before his first as lead playfield designer in John Wick (2024)'
Elizabeth Gieske handled majority of rules development; Mike Kyzivat served as subject matter expert; Tom Kyzivat created LCD artwork
high confidence · Eismin stated: 'Elizabeth… took on a lot of the rules herself' and 'We were working alongside Mike, our subject matter expert, and his brother [Tom Kyzivat] did all the artwork on the LCD'
Transformers playfield design shows influence from King Kong, Black Rose, Jurassic Park, and Cactus Canyon rather than direct copying
high confidence · Eismin explained design heritage: turnaround ramp from King Kong, spinner loop-upper flipper combo structure from Jurassic Park tower, Megatron area inspired by Cactus Canyon
Game includes Insider Connected features locked at launch: head-to-head competitive mode and movie-inspired mode using Cybercoins currency
high confidence · Article: 'The head-to-head competitive mode and special mode built around the Transformers movie are unlocked in IC, which will award players Cybercoins'
Competitive players Steven Bowden and Jason Werdrick averaged scores close to 100 million during reveal demonstration
high confidence · Article states: 'Across the demonstration that included top-ranked competitive players like Steven Bowden and Jason Werdrick, scores tended to average close to 100 million'

Notable Quotes

“We started in January [2025]...That's when our official kickoff was. We knew what [license] we were doing and had time to research it, so from the start, we knew what we were doing.”
Elliot Eismin @ media day reveal — Confirms official development timeline and licensing clarity advantage over previous releases
“Elizabeth… took on a lot of the rules herself… to make the gameplay as fun [as possible]. We were working alongside Mike, our subject matter expert, and his brother [Tom Kyzivat] did all the artwork on the LCD.”
Elliot Eismin @ media day reveal — Explains team structure and division of labor in game development
“I [could] envision the toys really easily...I knew with Transformers — big toy game. It just helped with that [concept] right away, and I was able to communicate with the other engineers, and it just makes the process a little bit smoother.”
Elliot Eismin @ media day reveal — Demonstrates how his mechanical engineering background informed playfield design philosophy
“The turnaround run for Grimlock to feed the upper flipper, I got that straight from King Kong. And I think Keith got that from Black Rose. So there's a succession, but not a whole lot of 'oh yeah, I like this game, I want to copy this.' It's more just, like, place the big toys, put shots around it, and see what's fun.”
Elliot Eismin @ media day reveal — Explains iterative design philosophy and design lineage in pinball
“Because of the property, this is more fun and light-hearted…I wanted to make something that [is] more approachable to people who aren't necessarily into pinball, so you have the big toys right in the front. The people who are into pinball, the geeks, they can shoot around and have fun with that as well. It's a mix of both worlds.”
Elliot Eismin @ media day reveal — Articulates design intent balancing casual accessibility and competitive depth
“It's easy to learn how to get the locks, how to get the multiball, and how to start modes. All the basic pinball stuff….the battles are straightforward, I think, and the risk-reward [factor] was good.”
Steven Bowden — Competitive player validation of accessibility and rule clarity in early play

Entities

Stern PinballcompanyTransformers: More Than Meets the EyegameElliot Eisminperson Elizabeth GieskepersonMike KyzivatpersonTom KyzivatpersonSteven Bowdenperson Jason Werdrickperson

Signals

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announcement: Stern officially revealed Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye at media day in Elk Grove Village headquarters, confirming game design, team, licensing basis, and gameplay direction
high · Article opens with 'revealed Wednesday at its headquarters in Elk Grove Village, Illinois' and provides extensive official quotes from designer Elliot Eismin
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design_philosophy: Eismin explicitly designed Transformers to balance casual accessibility (big toys, clear objectives, center shots) with competitive depth (tight shot geometry, risk-reward mechanics), contrasting with John Wick's adult-oriented difficulty
high · Eismin: 'this is more fun and light-hearted…I wanted to make something that [is] more approachable to people who aren't necessarily into pinball' while maintaining 'the geeks, they can shoot around and have fun with that as well'
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design_innovation: Transformers features Megatron cannon ramp with multiball lock, three-drop-target scoop guards, Optimus Prime precision ramp shot, upper flipper geometry recalling classic Pat Lawlor designs, and accessible forehand/backhand shot options
high · Article details: 'Megatron ramp on the right loads the Decepticon's cannon,' 'Three drop targets guard the Megatron scoop,' 'The Prime side ramp requires a very clean, precise shot,' and geometry 'to recall classic Pat Lawlor pinball'
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licensing_signal: Hasbro license for original 1980s Transformers cartoon and 1986 film provided clear, streamlined licensing path from project start, contrasting with James Bond 007's multi-film licensing complexity
high · Article: 'license from Hasbro for the original cartoon series and 1986 movie...the path from whitewood to machines shipping in boxes was much more clear-cut' versus 007 where 'license acquisition gauntlet across multiple Bond films...was still in progress at the game's launch'

Transcript

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Battle lines are drawn on the playfield in The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye, Stern Pinball’s latest cornerstone release, revealed Wednesday at its headquarters in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. Autobots are rolled out on the left side of the game’s playfield, while Decepticons set up on the right side with the aim of dominating the world under glass created by Stern’s team, led by engineer and designer Elliot Eismin and programmer Elizabeth Gieske. Transformers is the product of nearly a year and a half of work, aided by a license from Hasbro for the original cartoon series and 1986 movie that handed Stern’s team a ball to run with. The result is a packed playfield and a highly developed code at launch, compared to some other Stern releases. “We started in January [2025],” Eismin said at Stern’s media day reveal, “That’s when our official kickoff was. We knew what [license] we were doing and had time to research it, so from the start, we knew what we were doing. Mike [Kyzivat] was there in the beginning too, so it was, like, [Gieske] and Mike just fleshing out all the rules, and I think it shows how the code base is right now.” Eismin engineered games for Stern starting with 2015’s WWE Wrestlemania through James Bond 007 (2022), before his first as lead playfield designer in John Wick (2024). How a wooden box transformed into pinball Once the license was secured, Eismin and Gieske went into a deep dive on the original 1980s franchise. “Elizabeth… took on a lot of the rules herself… to make the gameplay as fun [as possible],” Eismin said. “We were working alongside Mike, our subject matter expert, and his brother [Tom Kyzivat] did all the artwork on the LCD. “There’s this big team of people involved to get this to the spot you’re seeing. It’s a long process.” In contrast to 007, which required Stern to run a license acquisition gauntlet across multiple Bond films that was still in progress at the game’s launch, the path from whitewood to machines shipping in boxes was much more clear-cut. The first two seasons of the television animated series and the movie were in the hands of the Stern team from the beginning. Eismin’s engineering background and experience on previous projects helped shape the physical aspects of what would become the miniaturized battlefield between Autobot freedom and Decepticon tyranny. “I [could] envision the toys really easily,” Eismin said. “I’ve done this since 2014 and worked with a lot of people… I knew with Transformers — big toy game. It just helped with that [concept] right away, and I was able to communicate with the other engineers, and it just makes the process a little bit smoother.” Designing by the Rule of Fun Transformers’ Megatron ramp on the right loads the Decepticon’s cannon in a shot that recalls the Deconsecrated multiball lock on Wick’s Premium and LE models, but otherwise this layout goes in a different direction from Eismin’s first. Eismin’s design influences are well informed by the teams he’s worked with for over a decade at Stern, from Keith Elwin to another mechanical engineer-turned-designer – Steve Ritchie – with whom Eismin worked on Star Wars (2017). “The turnaround run for Grimlock to feed the upper flipper, I got that straight from King Kong. And I think Keith got that from Black Rose. So there’s a succession, but not a whole lot of ‘oh yeah, I like this game, I want to copy this.’ It’s more just, like, place the big toys, put shots around it, and see what’s fun.” The spinner loop-upper flipper combo can end with a shot on Optimus Prime or the scoop ramp in the lane underneath that feeds to the left flipper in a shot that recalls the tower in Jurassic Park (2019), and is probably the hardest shot to make on Transformers. Stern’s earlier Transformers release from 2011 was designed by George Gomez and based on the Michael Bay film series. The latest derives only from the original 1980s toys and animated series, yet a continuity still exists. “There were a few nods to the Gomez Transformers,” Eismin said, “But not a whole lot. [In] the Megatron area, I pulled inspiration from Cactus Canyon, because it’s got that same villain area, so that’s kind of where I picked that from.” “Till All Are One” While the playfield differs greatly from Wick, one thing carries over from Eismin’s first design — tight shots, if maybe easier than Wick’s — but also geometry that makes nearly every shot accessible forehand or backhand, and misses are almost always defensible with quality catching and nudging work. And like Wick, Transformers is a title that will test both skills. Eismin said that Wick’s relative difficulty is reflected in the adult-oriented theme, but Transformers required a different mentality. “Because of the property, this is more fun and light-hearted…I wanted to make something that [is] more approachable to people who aren’t necessarily into pinball, so you have the big toys right in the front. The people who are into pinball, the geeks, they can shoot around and have fun with that as well. It’s a mix of both worlds.” Fans of the series who are good enough at pinball will see the conflict between the two mecha factions come to a head in the mode “One Shall Fall,” in which the display shows an animated battle between Optimus Prime and Megatron. Purple shots are lit that damage Megatron, while red shots damage Prime and are to be avoided. Three drop targets guard the Megatron scoop that starts most modes, in another nod to Gomez designs. The drops are easy to clear safely, with a center gap post that adds a line of defense down the middle. The scoop can be reached with a cradled right backhand. The Prime side ramp requires a very clean, precise shot to make, keeping the game from feeling too easy. The Pro-versus-Premium/LE gap doesn’t feel as wide here as it did on Wick, where the Pro skipped the right-side briefcase — one of that game’s riskiest shots. Like Wick, only the Premium and LE have a physical ball lock. The game’s geometry and ball paths also tend to recall classic Pat Lawlor pinball, with prominent shots up the middle and the upper flipper firing at multiple shots in the back of the playfield, and even in how the ball travels back to the lower flippers from the Prime area. “Knowing is half the battle” — sorry, wrong show Objectives are clear through the insert lights and audio, allowing this piece’s author’s first game to see the main Transformers multiball twice and a Starscream Frenzy that looks like a key driver of high scores, accounting for roughly a fifth of the 161 million final score. Across the demonstration that included top-ranked competitive players like Steven Bowden and Jason Werdrick, scores tended to average close to 100 million. “It’s easy to learn how to get the locks, how to get the multiball, and how to start modes,” Bowden said after his first rounds of Transformers. “All the basic pinball stuff….the battles are straightforward, I think, and the risk-reward [factor] was good.” Bowden, whose pinball blog funwithbonus.com will soon cover tutorials for Transformers, needed little time to find paths to maximum scores. “If you [charge] your Energon cube before you start a battle,” Bowden said, “then you can either play an easy or hard version of the battle,” with a multiplier active on the latter option. Bowden said you didn’t need to be in the top of the world’s pinball ranks to make something happen in this box. “It’s got the good shots up the middle for the people who are just going to shoot up the middle,” Bowden said. “That’s where the lock is, and that’s where the mode is.” More Than Meets The Eye — even after first reveal Not everything could be seen at the reveal due to Insider Connected not yet being operational with Transformers. This was certainly not lost on Bowden, for there’s much to be seen even after this sneak preview. “I’m just thinking, this is all [based] on what’s shown to us before it’s even connected,” Bowden said. “There’s more stuff we’ll see when [IC] is done.” The head-to-head competitive mode and special mode built around the Transformers movie are unlocked in IC, which will award players Cybercoins in a digital version of the tokens from Safe Cracker (1996). Cybercoins can be redeemed at launch to start the movie-inspired mode that features “The Touch” by Stan Bush from the film’s soundtrack. It wasn’t easy to hear much of the audio in Stern’s demonstration room until toward the end of the session, when many had cleared out. Then, the callouts from original Transformers voice actors Peter Cullen and Frank Welker could be taken in fully. The result is a game that sounds just like its theme. Anyone fluent in Cybertronian will be able to readily see the first Easter egg on the Limited Edition, but there’s something hidden to be found in all versions of the game. “If you do get an LE or CNLE,” Eismin said, “there’s a message to decipher on both the Autobot and Decepticon side.” Any other goodies to be found, it’s every Autobot for themselves. Eismin wouldn’t reveal any more hints, just confirmed they exist. Finally — possibly to the disappointment of some — the pinball machine itself does NOT transform into a robot. After 15 years of covering jocks throwing balls around a field, I've moved on to writing on a "sport" where the ball and the field are under glass. That's why I'm here for Kineticist. I wrote, produced photography and did layout for a few daily and weekly newspapers in Texas, before a few stints living in other parts of the country. Then, I ended up in Chicago in 2019. While I've played pinball since I was young enough to need a stool or chair to see over the lockdown bar, it was only here in pinball's hometown that I took up playing competitively and regularly. Like what you're reading? Get pinball news, analysis, and deep dives delivered to your inbox.