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■ Stern Pinball
I tried out all the new Stern machines, including John Wick (released May 2024) and Foo Fighters (February 2023). When we have more time, I’d like to return and try out some of the older machines to see how they compare to the new machines. I saw a Judge Dredd machine from 1993, but it wasn’t working at the time (not plugged in?)… I would’ve loved to try that one out.

Wonderland Amusement

It’s 2026, and you can buy a real Pinball Machine for about $1,000 for Wonderland Amusement’s first pinball machine Alice Goes to Wonderland Pinball. There is a markup on Amazon, but I feel it’s a fair price because of shipping.

Man, I really want one. For the price (around $1,100) it’s way, way cheaper than a traditional Stern machine, which starts at $7,000 and goes up to $10,000. Even for around $1k, it’s cheaper than a digital AtGames 4k Pinball. If Wonderland Amusement can keep releasing these $1k machines, I bet you that they will bring so many flipperheads into the pinball hobby (me included!)

Details of Alice Goes to Wonderland Pinball:

• Fully Mechanical Action: Real flippers, bumpers, spinners, and modern game code deliver authentic arcade gameplay with fast shots, skill-based control, and exciting multiball modes
• Wonderland Adventure Theme: Complete whimsical challenges from the Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat, and White Rabbit inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
• Compact Home Cabinet: Designed for living rooms and game spaces, this space-saving cabinet brings full-scale pinball excitement into a home-friendly footprint
• Immersive Lights & Art: Custom artwork and vibrant LED lighting create a stunning display piece that enhances gameplay and adds visual energy to any room
• Crafted for Modern Players: Debut release from Wonderland Amusements, blending nostalgic mechanical charm with durable construction and reliable performance
• Step into a fast-paced, mechanical quest to rescue Alice from the depths of Wonderland. This fully playable home pinball machine features real flippers, bumpers, spinners, and custom game code – all packed into a beautifully designed cabinet with LED lighting and original art. Sized at approximately 80% of a full-size machine and priced at just $1,099, it’s built for fans who want an authentic arcade experience at home.

Now for the exciting news, their next game is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Battle in the Sewer. I’m super excited about this. I am saving up money for it!

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■ Zen Studios
There are only a few companies that makes pinball games on the PC, and if you’re into pinball, you’ve come across Zen Studios, the Hungarian video game company that produces Pinball FX 3. When I started buying pinball games, I started investing in Pinball FX 3 (the sequel to Pinball FX 2 and Zen Pinball 2).

AtGames v Zen Studios

You guys know I love my tiny AtGames Pinball Machine since I purchased it in Nov 2025, but I also noted that it’s disappointing that the machine won’t run Zen Pinball games due to the Micro’s not very powerful computer. If you wanted to play Zen Pinballs, you had to purchase AtGames’ more expensive 4k Pinball machine, which can cost up to $2k.

When I was writing about Zen Studios earlier this year, I saw a rumor going around that Zen had cut ties with AtGames. Then it became official at the end of April with an announcement from @zen_studios:

Zen Studios has ended its partnership with AtGames. We will release information related to content availability on the platform in the coming days.

Recently AtGames filed a lawsuit against Zen Studios, complaining that when Zen ended their relationship, it caused harm and reputation to the company. The lawsuit is not demanding money, but rather resuming their partnership.

I don’t know who is at fault here, but I will break down some key points that I’ve observed:

Software
Since Zen Studios switched over to Unreal Engine, no one, including myself, was happy about it. I spent so much money on the original Pinball FX 3 (now rebranded as Pinball Classic) and did not want to re-pay for tables in the new Unreal Engine.

Unreal Engine is notorious for not running well, even on powerful PC. Imagine it running on a poor AtGames machine, and you’ll have a bad/lag/horrible running game. The fault is with the software engine, which is clearly not optimized by Zen Studios.

The only positive is that Unreal Engine looks amazing, if your computer can run it.

Hardware
I can’t speak for AtGames’ 4k Pinball Machines, since they are so expensive, it’s out of my reach… but based on my experience with the Pinball Micro, I can tell that AtGames is not using the best material. My screen is terrible (very dim and hard to see) and the CPU stutters on demanding pinballs. I know the Micro is a budget machine, but, to me, it just felt that AtGames source bad components – including that godawful d-pad. No one, I mean no one, will say anything good about that mushy d-pad. How is it possible to have the world’s worst d-pad? It just makes the whole thing feels cheap.

I’ve seen online that there are lag in that Adams Family 4k Pinball, because there’s something wrong with either the hardware or software. This is massively disappointing for people who paid $2k for the machine. For that much money, they expect it to work right out of the box.

Pricing
Which brings me to pricing. I think AtGames pricing is way too much for their products. I know this is a very niche audience. When you price it at $2k, there is only a small number of people who are willing to pay for it. Plus, they need to live in a house with enough room, like a dedicated game room, for a full machine.

I suspect that they don’t sell enough hardware that Zen Studios will justify porting their software to AtGames. This is just speculation on my part.

To summarize, I think the combination of poor sales and software poorly running on AtGames’ hardware, that might be one of the reasons why Zen decided to cut ties with AtGames.

I guess we’ll find out the full story at the AtGames v Zen Studios trials.