The most notable streaming TV shows in the works based on video games, from 'Halo' to HBO's 'The Last of Us'
Travis Clark
- Hollywood is mining video games for IP to boost streaming services.
- Video-game movies have a history of flopping, but there are plenty of notable shows in the works.
When Sony's "Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City" opened in theaters over the Thanksgiving holiday, it flopped hard.
The movie grossed $5.3 million in its first three-day weekend in the US. It's since made just $13 million domestically and $24 million worldwide. It's also received poor reviews and has a 28% Rotten Tomatoes critic score.
It marks another commercial and critical failure for a video-game movie in a genre with a rich history of them.
But Hollywood still has plenty of game adaptations on the way. The most notable ones are being developed for the small screen, though.
Game sales hit a record $56.9 billion in 2020, according to a report by the research firm NPD. As media companies compete for well-established IP to attract (or keep) subscribers for their streaming services, they've set their sights on the video-game industry.
And as long as Hollywood keeps mining games for content, industry professionals are glad it's embracing TV.
"We play our favorite games for hundreds of hours," said Christian Linke, a creative director at Riot Games and the showrunner of Netflix's new "League of Legends" animated series, "Arcane." "Movies don't do the experience justice when you only stick with that world for two hours."
Mac Walters, the project director for "Mass Effect: Legendary Edition" — a remastered collection of the sci-fi series' original three games — told Insider during an interview this year that a planned "Mass Effect" movie was scrapped a decade ago.
"If you're going to tell a story that's as fleshed out as 'Mass Effect,' TV is the way to do it," Walters said. "There's a natural way it fits well with episodic content."
Now, Amazon is nearing a deal to make a "Mass Effect" TV series, according to Deadline, as the company bets on high-profile genre shows.
Insider looked at the major video-game shows in the works for streaming platforms, from Paramount+'s "Halo" to Netflix's "Assassin's Creed."
Amazon Prime Video
Deadline reported recently that Amazon is nearing a deal for a "Mass Effect" TV series, based on the hit sci-fi game franchise.
It's part of an effort by Amazon to bulk up its output of genre TV after hits like "The Boys" and most recently "The Wheel of Time."
"Westworld" creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy are developing a "Fallout" show for Amazon, based on the post-apocalyptic game series.
"'Fallout' is one of the greatest game series of all time," Nolan and Joy said in a statement last year with the announcement. "Each chapter of this insanely imaginative story has cost us countless hours we could have spent with family and friends."
HBO Max
HBO is developing a series based on the "Last of Us" video game, written and executive produced by "Chernobyl" creator Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, the copresident of the studio behind the game, Naughty Dog.
Pedro Pascal plays Joel, who has to escort young Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey, across a post-apocalyptic US.
Netflix
While Netflix's hit fantasy series "The Witcher" is more inspired by the novels by Andrzej Sapkowski, the books also spawned popular video games. Given that "The Witcher" is one of Netflix's biggest series, the streaming giant is developing spinoffs, including a live-action prequel series called "The Witcher: Blood Origin."
Other game-based, live-action shows coming to Netflix soon include "Resident Evil" and "Assassin's Creed." A 2016 movie adapted from the latter, starring Michael Fassbender, flopped at the box office with $240 million worldwide.
Netflix has also ordered animated projects based on games, including "Sonic Prime" starring Sonic the Hedgehog and a "Tomb Raider" series.
Paramount+
First developed for ViacomCBS's premium cable network Showtime, the long-in-the-works "Halo" TV series moved to ViacomCBS's streaming service Paramount+ last year, and is set for release in 2022. The series is based on the blockbuster sci-fi game franchise of the same name, the new entry of which, "Halo: Infinite," was released on Wednesday.
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