Dear Stern Pinball Fans, Players & Operators,

Stern is absolutely committed to code updates and games with great code on them!

Every day that the factory is open, several of our team members are working on code updates for machines that have already been released. Some of our team members even work on these updates at their own homes out of pure passion for the pinball industry. In 2015 we have been investing in people and have hired several new team members (like me!) to help meet the growing demands for all aspects of the business at Stern. The product development team at Stern has never been more busy!

In 2015 we have released a large amount of updates, Whoa Nellie, Metallica, The Walking Dead and KISS in July, The Walking Dead and KISS again in August, Game of Thrones twice this month, and now WWE. That is 9 code updates released in just 5 months, nearly 2 every 30 days average. This means that there is always a code update around the corner.

We cannot give specific release dates of upcoming code or details on what is being worked on and when because the process is iterative. There are so many factors that dictate what is being worked on, and when, and what.

The games are going to be good out of the box, and then improve from there. This is bearing in mind that the vast majority of people in the world who are stepping up to a machine are playing for 3-5 minutes and earning money for operators. We understand a growing segment of pinball owners keep machines in their homes and for this reason demand enhanced and more complex gameplay. We are happy to satisfy those demands with code updates released on our website.

WWE in particular has been the cause of some discussion recently with the release of Code 1.20, and we can say that the next WWE code update featuring updates and enhancements to game-play and features is already in development. We are so excited for you to play it!

Every Stern game from WWE to Avengers to KISS to The Walking Dead and in between: is fun. We are absolutely committed to making fun games, making quality games, and providing improvements and enhanced functionality with code updates over time.

Thank you.

By all means: wait. If you are more comfortable waiting: please do!

Thankfully Stern has a roster of great games to select from that are available from our retailer network. If you don't like "our latest" odds are you will like one of the 8 machines we have released in the last 3 years.

There is an unofficially policy we have. I agree with it on a personal level. "if you don't like it, don't buy it". By all means, this is a large purchase for most people, why not do some research, play some games on it, consider your options and make a decision you are comfortable with? You should absolutely be excited and thrilled to buy your new stern machine. If you're not "feeing it" then "holding your money hostage" is a good call.

Thankfully, a lot of people are "feeing it" and we work constantly to keep up with global demand for machines and accessories.