Stern Pinball

Stern Pinball is an American manufacturer of pinball machines based in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. Founded in 1986 by Gary Stern, the company is part of a longer American pinball industry lineage associated with the Stern family. It designs and manufactures physical pinball games for commercial locations and private owners, and has remained one of the best-known active makers in a market where dedicated machine manufacturers have become relatively few. The company’s core offering is the pinball machine: a cabinet-based electromechanical and electronic game in which players use flippers to direct a metal ball around a playfield. Stern releases games built around original concepts as well as licensed entertainment properties. Its licensed themes have drawn on well-known films, television, music, sports, and other popular culture, while the company’s own game designs combine themed artwork, playfield mechanisms, lighting, sound, software, and scoring features. Models are sold in configurations aimed at different settings and budgets, including commercial operators and home collectors. The company also offers accessories and related products through its retail channels. Stern serves customers in the United States and international markets. Its machines can be found in arcades, bars, family entertainment venues, and private game rooms. The brand’s positioning combines hands-on, social arcade play with collectible hardware and licensed themes. It appeals both to operators seeking durable location-based entertainment and to enthusiasts who value the physical design, rules, and replayability of individual games. Stern Pinball is privately held and is associated with the Stern family. Gary Stern founded the company and has long been its central public figure. The company’s ongoing releases, licensed collaborations, and support for the pinball community have helped keep the brand visible among players and collectors. It continues to operate as a specialist manufacturer focused on pinball rather than as a broad-based games or electronics company.

Stern Pinball was founded in 1986 by Gary Stern in the United States. Its emergence followed a period of major change in the domestic pinball business. Earlier companies connected with the Stern family had participated in the American coin-operated amusement and pinball industry, giving the new company a grounding in an established manufacturing tradition. Stern Pinball developed as an independent, specialist maker focused on the design and production of pinball machines. Across the following decades, the company continued to release machines for location-based entertainment venues and, increasingly, for home users and collectors. The enduring format of a physical playfield, flippers, ball, and cabinet gave its products a distinctive position alongside video games and other arcade equipment. Stern’s games combined hardware engineering with rules, artwork, sound, lighting, and software, making each release a complete themed entertainment product rather than simply a cabinet or game system. A notable part of Stern’s product strategy has been the use of licensed properties. Games themed around recognizable entertainment and popular-culture franchises can introduce pinball to fans of those properties, while original designs give the manufacturer room to build games around its own concepts. Across releases, the company has served arcade and amusement operators as well as enthusiasts who purchase machines for private collections or home game rooms. Different models and configurations have helped address the differing needs of these audiences. As other manufacturers left or consolidated in the pinball market, Stern became one of the most prominent continuing producers of new machines. Its ongoing releases and engagement with players and collectors have helped sustain interest in pinball as both a commercial amusement format and a hobby. The company remains privately held and based in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. It continues to operate as a focused pinball manufacturer, with its identity centered on physical machines, themed game design, and a dedicated player community.

• 1986

  Stern Pinball is founded

• Expansion into licensed-theme games

• Continued production as a specialist manufacturer

A specialist American pinball manufacturer combining licensed and original game themes with physical, replayable arcade hardware for commercial operators and home collectors.

• Commercial pinball machines

  Pinball machines designed for arcades and other location-based entertainment venues.

• Home-use pinball machines

  Machines sold to private players and collectors for home game rooms and collections.

• Licensed and original-theme games

  Pinball titles based on licensed entertainment properties as well as original concepts.

• Unconfirmed

  Reported2026.10.08

  Stern Pinball reveals Fallout pinball machine line priced from $7,299 to $13,999[2]Stern Pinball发布《辐射》主题弹球机产品线，售价7,299美元至13,999美元screenrant.com

  Stern Pinball has officially revealed a Fallout-themed pinball machine line, primarily themed around the Fallout TV show with some overlap with the game series. The line includes three models — Pro ($7,299 USD), Premium ($10,699 USD), and Limited Edition ($13,999 USD) — with features such as an interactive Pip-Boy, an LCD gameplay screen, and a shooting gallery; the Limited Edition adds custom Vault-Tec Yellow coloring, a sculpted Deathclaw with kickback, and a "Magna-Flip" Vault playfield.

• 2021.05.11

  Reported2021.05.11

  Stern Pinball launches The Mandalorian pinball machines[3]Stern Pinball 推出《曼达洛人》主题弹球机prnewswire.com

  Stern Pinball announced and made available a new line of pinball machines inspired by The Mandalorian, in Pro, Premium, and Limited Edition models.

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1. 1Stern Pinball official websitesternpinball.com
2. 2Stern Pinball发布《辐射》主题弹球机产品线，售价7,299美元至13,999美元screenrant.com
3. 3Stern Pinball 推出《曼达洛人》主题弹球机prnewswire.com