Are Video Game Adaptations Hollywood’s Next Big Trend?
By Movieguide® Contributor
TV shows and movies based on popular video games have popped up in recent years, and viewers can only expect to see more of them as over a dozen projects based on games are currently in development.
Studios like to produce projects they know have large audiences, which is why sequels and franchises are created from movies that do well. Audiences, however, have become weary of the endless sequels.
Studios are looking to other media sources to create TV shows and movies with an already-established fanbase without pumping out sequels. Video games have become the obvious choice.
Netflix has already found success with TV shows based on games like “League of Legends,” “The Witcher,” “Castlevania” and “Cuphead.” HBO’s THE LAST OF US and Paramount+’s HALO also drew in large viewership, proving that video game adaptations are often successful.
Peacock hopes to continue this success with its newly released TWISTED METAL, and many streaming services have acquired the rights to the most popular gaming franchises.
Netflix plans to add to its roster of video game-inspired media with shows based on “Assassin’s Creed,” “Devil May Cry,” “Gears of War,” “Horizon Zero Dawn,” “Splinter Cell” and a live-action “Pokémon” series.
Prime Video is working on projects with “Fallout,” “God of War” and “Tomb Raider.” AMC is producing an “Alan Wake” show, and Paramount+ is creating a show based on a core character in the SONIC THE HEDGEHOG universe.
While these shows are based on video games, they offer more than just a rehash of an already-told story. Using A-list celebrities, the shows place familiar characters into new situations.
With the success of THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE, studios have seen the previously untapped potential that video game IPs have, especially longstanding ones that can pull in viewers through nostalgia. It seems that the trend of video game adaptations is only beginning and could become a mainstream genre.
Movieguide® previously reported:
It is clear that the video game industry is a giant force in the global market; it controls a much larger space in the media world than many would imagine. The enormous size of the industry’s consumer base explains why video games are starting to appear in other forms of media.
Multiple gaming franchises have been transformed into TV shows over the past year, with high levels of success. The SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE is currently the highest-grossing movie of the year and is the second-best-performing animated movie of all time. Nintendo recently opened its Super Mario World theme park at Universal Studios. Media companies that have traditionally focused on other types of content are trying to break into the space. For example, Netflix created a game studio in the summer of 2021 and views it as one of the key components to the company’s long-term success.
While video games have long been a silent giant in the media world, it seems like those days are coming to an end as the negative stigma and stereotypes identified with gaming fade away.
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