# Pinball Expo 2026: Past, Present, Future

> Stern Pinball dominates market with 90% share as homebrew and VR innovations reshape pinball's future.
- Title: Pinball Expo 2026: Past, Present, Future · Ars Technica
- Summary: Stern Pinball dominates market with 90% share as homebrew and VR innovations reshape pinball's future. Stern controls 90% of pinball market while homebrew…
- Keywords: pinball expo 2026, stern pinball, multimorphic p3, homebrew pinball, virtual pinball, fallout pinball, circus voltaire, beetlejuice pinball, bon jovi pinball, sonic the hedgehog pinball, technology, science
- Source: Ars Technica — https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2026/10/the-past-present-and-future-share-a-show-floor-at-pinball-expo-2026
- Published: 2026-10-21T11:00:04+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: pinball expo 2026, stern pinball, multimorphic p3, homebrew pinball, virtual pinball, fallout pinball, circus voltaire, beetlejuice pinball, bon jovi pinball, sonic the hedgehog pinball, technology, science
## Pinball Expo 2026 opens
Hundreds gather outside Stern Pinball headquarters in Elk Grove Village, Illinois on a brisk fall Friday morning.
## Gary Stern's 40-year legacy
Gary Stern, founder of Stern Pinball, greets visitors at the factory tour and explains the company's 40-year history.
## Market dominance
Stern controls 90 percent of the current pinball market with new license releases cementing its position.

> at any given time, stern controls 90 percent of the current pinball market, and everybody else splits the rest
## Homebrew boom
Homebrew projects and hobbyist designs are growing rapidly with new tools for creating custom pinball machines.
## Stern's latest release
Stern's new Fallout pinball game stands near the entrance of the convention floor with other major manufacturers.
## Virtual reality experiments
Several companies showed virtual reality pinball setups with physical controls for tactile play.
## Multimorphic P3 system
Multimorphic's P3 system uses a swappable playfield with real-time game changes based on player choices.

> the way the p3 is designed is that the lower two-thirds is a ball-tracking interactive display… we have floating mechanisms above the screen floating flippers floating slings floating targets. and the upper third is a swappable play field. weve got 10 different play fields now that we can swap and change the entire game
## Dungeon Crawler Carl
Dungeon Crawler Carl will enter production at the end of the year with seven book-based pinball games.

> we're planning on doing seven books in the game… you can play them in any order you want
## Pocket Pinball
Pocket Pinball is a free Android app that lets users load any Visual Pinball X table on their phone.
## Homebrew highlights
Homebrew projects like Shaolin Flow and Akira-themed machines are gaining popularity with new tools.
## Project Pinball charity
Project Pinball raises money to place pinball machines in children's hospitals.
## Pinball Expo's diversity
The expo features retro games, custom accessories, and homebrew projects alongside major manufacturers.
## Future of pinball
More manufacturers and homebrew developers are creating pinball games across different regions and platforms.
## Key takeaway

Stern controls 90% of pinball market while homebrew projects and modular systems like Multimorphic's P3 expand the industry.