Stern's Walking Dead Remastered pinball just got its 0.90 code update

Stern Pinball has released the version 0.90.0 code update for The Walking Dead Remastered. The software patch arrives exactly one month after the machine's previous update.

One month after the previous code release, Stern released version 0.90 of the remaster code. The latest fixes and features tighten up the ruleset, adjust the scoring balance, and squash lingering bugs as the software inches closer to a 1.0 release. The game itself is a modern overhaul of a machine that competitive players have loved for a decade.

A 2014 John Borg design gets a facelift

The original version of The Walking Dead pinball launched in 2014. It was designed by John Borg and ran on Stern's older SAM hardware system. The game utilized a traditional red dot matrix display for its animations and scoring. It earned a reputation as a brutal, fast-paced game with dangerous outlanes and deep scoring strategies.

The Remastered edition brings that exact physical layout into 2025 with Stern's modern Spike 3 architecture. The old dot matrix display is gone. A full-color LCD screen now sits in the backbox. This allows for high-definition video clips from the AMC television show and entirely new user interface elements. The cabinet also has an upgraded MDF construction and integrated Stern Insider Connected hardware in the bottom apron.

Stern Pinball has been revisiting several of its older titles recently. The company previously released a Remastered version of Metallica. The Walking Dead Remastered fits into a broader strategy of keeping popular games in production while upgrading their internal hardware to match current manufacturing standards. The Spike 3 system standardizes the parts across Stern's factory line. This means operators do not have to stock older SAM system replacement boards to keep the game running on location.

The Well Walker and the Prison doors

The physical playfield remains identical to the 2014 release. The centerpiece is the Well Walker bash toy. Players must hit the zombie in the stomach repeatedly to reveal its guts and trigger a multiball mode. The right side of the playfield houses the Prison doors. Battering these doors eventually opens them to reveal another walker head. The left side holds the Bicycle Girl ramp.

These mechanical features are notorious for sending the silver ball flying out of control. Missed shots to the Well Walker often result in immediate drains down the middle. The Remastered version keeps this punishing geometry intact. The 0.90 code update ensures the software tracking these physical switches and modes operates smoothly on the new Spike 3 boards.

Moving Lyman Sheats' code to Spike 3

The original code for The Walking Dead is widely considered a masterpiece of competitive pinball software. The late Lyman Sheats programmed a system where players could bring multiple modes into the Blood Bath multiball. Stacking these modes required precise shot making and deep knowledge of the rules.

The Remastered edition ports this complex logic over to the new hardware. The 0.90 update ensures that all of those intricate scoring multipliers and stacked modes function correctly with the new high-definition display assets. Modern Stern machines handle these updates much differently than the 2014 original.

This system also tracks player scores, achievements, and global leaderboards. Stern typically releases a few more incremental patches before officially declaring a game's code complete at version 1.0. The rapid one-month turnaround between 0.81 and 0.90 suggests the development team is moving quickly toward that finish line.