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Stern Pinball brought an effective mix of arcade culture, Generation 1 nostalgia and heavy music to San Diego Comic-Con 2026. Its centerpiece was Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye, the 2026 pinball machine created with Hasbro around the original animated television universe. Comic-Con arrived during the 40th-anniversary year of The Transformers: The Movie, placing the machine beside soundtrack releases, collectibles and artist appearances. Reigning Phoenix Music’s event communications identified its shared Stern Pinball space as Booth #4029; some pre-show Hasbro partner material separately listed Stern at Booth #4039, so #4029 is the number supported by the label’s event-day schedule for the joint activation.

More Than Meets the Eye returns to Generation 1

Released on May 20, 2026, Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye moves away from the live-action imagery of Stern’s 2011 Transformers game and mines the characters and story arcs of the classic animated series. Players join Optimus Prime and the Autobots against Megatron and the Decepticons, collecting Energon Cubes, teaming with the Dinobots and gathering Tech Spec cards. Its signature ideas are physical: Premium and Limited Edition models feature an animatronic Megatron whose articulated fusion cannon rotates and fires pinballs back at the player, while Soundwave’s cassette deck locks and ejects balls. Sculpted Grimlock and Optimus Prime figures complete the mechanical battle.

The sound design deepens that connection. Peter Cullen recorded custom Optimus Prime call-outs and Frank Welker provides custom speech for Megatron and Soundwave. A special mode celebrating The Transformers: The Movie uses “The Touch” by Stan Bush, while Knights of Unicron supplied original music. Stern also integrated Insider Connected and introduced the Cyber Coin wallet, allowing players to earn currency for challenge content. “Prime Training” teaches pinball fundamentals, and the game includes a head-to-head experience in which two players can compete in real time. Pro, Premium and Limited Edition versions carry official US prices of $6,999, $9,699 and $12,999; the Limited Edition is restricted to 750 machines worldwide.

Booth #4029 mixed pinball, soundtrack culture and metal

Stern’s Comic-Con presence became more than a hardware demonstration through its connection with Reigning Phoenix Music. The shared space offered physical releases tied to The Transformers: The Movie: The Soundtrack – The Reformatted Edition, including a $40 SDCC-exclusive Mystery Junkion Scrap Metal vinyl. Collectible cassette box sets also recreated Generation 1 cassette characters: the Laserbeak edition sold at Booth #4029 contained the remastered soundtrack and enamel pins, with a small number of chase sets featuring numbered gold-plated pins. It also echoed Soundwave’s cassette mechanism inside Stern’s machine.

Friday, July 24 made the booth a meeting point for Transformers music history. Composer Vince DiCola, singer Stan Bush, vocalist Francesco Cavalieri and Knights of Unicron were scheduled for a noon signing connected to the reformatted soundtrack. At 3:30 p.m., Meshuggah drummer Tomas Haake and guitarist Mårten Hagström appeared for a signing tied to a limited Meshuggah x Transformers shirt. Designed by Ken Christiansen, its artwork referenced Megatron’s destruction and reconstruction as Galvatron in the 1986 film while also celebrating the anniversary of Meshuggah’s Destroy Erase Improve. The crossover was unexpectedly apt: destruction followed by reconfiguration is Megatron’s path to Galvatron.

The badge-free Pop-Up Arcade put gameplay first

Stern’s other major SDCC destination was at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina beside the convention center. The returning Pop-Up Arcade occupied the Pacific Ballroom and was free and open to the public without a Comic-Con badge. From Thursday, July 23 through Saturday, July 25, it ran from 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Event coverage confirmed that the two headline new releases were Pokémon and Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye, giving visitors a calmer place to spend meaningful time with the machines away from the Exhibit Hall.

That hands-on setting was particularly valuable for Transformers because its identity depends on movement. Watching Megatron’s cannon return a ball, seeing Soundwave lock it like a cassette, scanning into Insider Connected and pursuing Cyber Coins communicate the design better than a static cabinet display. Shortly before Comic-Con, Stern also released accessories for the machine, including an animated Optimus Prime topper synchronized with dialogue from Peter Cullen. The accessories extend the machine into a collectible platform.

A product showcase became a Transformers anniversary event

The strength of Stern Pinball’s SDCC 2026 presence was its breadth. Inside Comic-Con, More Than Meets the Eye was surrounded by anniversary music, limited physical media, signings and crossover merchandise; at the Marriott, visitors could concentrate on the game itself. The booth supplied collector energy while the Pop-Up Arcade supplied hands-on time. Forty years after The Transformers: The Movie, Stern’s animated-series missions, original voice performers, soundtrack links and mechanical toys turned Generation 1 memories into gameplay. In a convention filled with collectibles often meant to be admired behind glass, Stern’s most persuasive idea was simple: this Transformers celebration was built to be played.

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Photos : Boris Colletier / Mulderville