SDCC 2023: STERN PINBALL'S NEW VENOM GAME

For the last several Comic-Cons now, Stern Pinball has kept their crown as the King of Pins by providing convention attendees with access to a FREE pop-up pinball arcade at San Diego’s Marriott Marquis hotel. Whether you have a badge or not, their arcade is always open to the public, with plenty of games on hand and relatively small crowds that allow people to just walk in and get gaming without waiting at all.

For 2023, Stern has two new games ready for display at the Marriott as well as on the show floor. One of those games is based on the rock band Foo Fighters. But the one we’re excited to highlight here is Venom, which is of course based on the popular anti-hero/villain from Marvel Comics’ Spider-Man.

In addition to getting up close and personal with the game any time they want through the entire length of San Diego Comic-Con, fans have an opportunity to see and hear more on Thursday the 20th when Stern hosts an “Into the Pinverse” panel moderated by GameSpot’s Tamoor Hussain. It’ll be at 2:30pm in the Convention Center’s Room 29CD, and will also include Stern Pinball CEO Seth Davis, Lead Game Designer Brian Eddy, and Head of Marketing Zach Sharpe sharing all there is to know about Venom’s art and design process, and much more about the pinball landscape as a whole and Stern’s leading role in it.

Get ready for all the alien symbiotic goodness and gooiness with the trailer below, followed by more in-depth details directly from Stern Pinball on what the game is all about.

Stern’s Venom pinball game will immerse players into the mayhem of this antihero’s Marvel Universe, featuring more than 20 characters including: Eddie Brock, Flash Thompson, Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker, Black Suit Spider-Man, Miles Morales, Riot, Agony, Lasher, Phage, Doppelganger, Venomized Hulk, Venomized Wolverine and Venomized Captain America. Venom’s arch enemy Carnage is collecting Codices to awaken Knull, the God of the symbiotes. Venom must stop Carnage by battling through his army of symbiotes and the Infected to prevent him from taking over the world.

Playing as Venom, gamers will select a host to bond with at the start of each game, altering the entire gaming experience both physically and digitally. Vertical pinball lock symbiote containment vessels located on both sides of the playfield lock and quickly release balls for constant frenetic action as players explore shots through the mechanically changing Argo-Lab and Life Foundation pathways. Players will bash an interactive, custom sculpted Carnage captive ball back into Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane. Additionally, a surprise Doppelganger attack can swing into action at a moment’s notice, unveiling three uplift targets wreaking chaos.

Canvassing the Venom pinball game experience is a collection of hand-drawn comic book style artwork by renowned artist Jeremy Packer (AKA Zombie Yeti). Depending on which host you choose, players will hear a variety of different styles of music throughout gameplay, including over a dozen music tracks from Grammy Award-winning musician Mark Tremonti.

“Collaborating with Marvel has given us an opportunity to create this truly unique, engaging and dynamic pinball experience inspired by Venom,” said Seth Davis, President & CEO of Stern Pinball. “The artwork and animations pop. The music rocks. And we can’t wait for fans to sink their teeth into this game changing pinball experience and get connected today.”