After decades of unsuccessful big-screen attempts, video game franchises are starting to look to the small screen for their live-action adaptations. It makes perfect sense as the stories for many video games are difficult to condense in a typical two-hour film. Some TV series based on video games have already been produced, including Netflix's animated Castlevania, Paramount+'s Halo, and HBO's critically acclaimed The Last of Us.
Series like Netflix's Castlevania and HBO's The Last of Us are just the beginning of an overwhelming amount of upcoming TV adaptations. Sony, in particular, has aggressively sought out studios to produce TV series based on their numerous successful properties.
10 Assassin's Creed Will Hopefully Be Better Than Its First Adaptation
Netflix
Assassin's Creed made a valiant attempt at a film in the 2016 movie of the same name. The first attempt at adapting the popular historical science-fiction franchise was met with harsh reviews despite starring prominent actor Michael Fassbender.
Shortly before the release of the Assassin's Creed film, Ubisoft began talks with Netflix to produce a series, initially planned to be just an anime series. In 2020, Netflix announced that multiple Assassin's Creed projects are in the works, including a live-action, an anime, and an animated series. Recently, it's been confirmed that the live-action series lost its showrunner Jeb Stuart due to creative differences.
9 Fallout Brings A Beloved Gaming Franchise To Streaming
Amazon Prime Video
Fallout is an alternate-history post-apocalyptic franchise currently produced by Bethesda Softworks. Recent Fallout games have given players a fully open world where they can leave their mark through actions and dialog choices.
Geneva Robertson-Dworet, who rewrote the script for the most recent Tomb Raider film and co-wrote the screenplay for Captain Marvel, and Graham Wagner will serve as showrunners. In addition, Walton Goggins of The Hateful Eight fame and Ella Purnell of Yellowjackets have been cast to star in Fallout. A teaser image was released in October 2022.
8 Mass Effect Could Be A Space Epic For The Ages
Amazon Prime Video
Similar to Fallout, the Mass Effect series is ripe for TV potential. The vast and lore-filled space RPG centers around the player-created Commander Shepard during the beginning of human exploration. Commander Shepard is joined by characters of many different races as he seeks to bring together the universe against mutual foes.
As of 2021, there were negotiations between EA and Amazon for the rights to produce a Mass Effect series as Amazon hopes to expand its fantasy repertoire. Amazon is enthusiastic about the possibility of adapting Mass Effect. However, it is unknown whether or not a Mass Effect series will happen, and no official announcement has been made.
7 Alan Wake Could Be An Eerie, Twin Peaks-Inspired Crime Series
AMC
The Alan Wake series has seen a revival in recent years. The Twin Peaks-inspired horror franchise saw an impressive remaster in 2021 that coincided with a long-awaited sequel announcement. To top it off, a TV series is also in the works.
Remedy Entertainment initially partnered with Contrarian Films to produce an Alan Wake series in 2018 that was based on old Alan Wake 2 plans. Years later, the rights to the Alan Wake series were sold to AMC in 2022, which is currently hard at work to bring Alan Wake's many mysteries to the small screen. Unfortunately, not much else is known at this time.
6 Sonic The Hedgehog Is Giving Knuckles His Own Show
Paramount+
Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series has seen more lows than highs in recent decades. However, the winds appear to be blowing in Sonic's favor with the excellent Sonic Frontiers and the unexpected success of the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog films.
It is that success that Paramount Pictures will attempt to take advantage of as a spinoff series is in the works for Paramount+. This spinoff series is set to center around Knuckles, who was voiced by Idris Elba in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Elba is set to reprise his role with the spinoff series scheduled to release in 2023. An unrelated animated Sonic series, Sonic Prime, debuted on Netflix in December 2022.
5 Life Is Strange Is An Emotionally Complex Tale Perfect For TV
Hulu
Dontnod Entertainment's Life is Strange has endeared players with its loveable characters and its difficult choices and circumstances. Unlike other stories that will require heavy effects work, Life is Strange should be a relatively straightforward adaptation from game to TV.
The rights to a Life is Strange series are held by Hulu. In 2021, Hulu announced that musician Shawn Mendes would produce the series, which is a good sign as the Life is Strange series has had some of the best-licensed soundtracks in recent gaming memory. Anonymous Content will also serve as the production company for the Life is Strange series. It's unknown if this series will retell the original story of Max and Chloe or tell a fresh new story like Life is Strange's follow-ups.
4 A Plague's Tale Could Be A Rat-Infested Period Epic
Platform TBD
While most video game series being adapted have a long history, A Plague's Tale is still fairly new. It only just received its first sequel in 2022. A Plague's Tale tells the story of siblings Amica and Hugo de Lune as they try to survive a plague and rat-infested France during the 14th century.
A series based on A Plague's Tale was announced in early 2022 and is set to be directed by French director Mathieu Turi. A Plague's Tale will be produced by Mediawan, Asobo, and Focus Entertainment and filmed in France. Where A Plague's Tale will air is unknown. This may be a French-based series with international distribution rights to be sold off to eager streaming and TV platforms.
3 Twisted Metal Is Long Overdue For Some Sort Of Adaptation
NBC Peacock
Sony has become a force in the development of TV video game adaptations. In the past year, Uncharted has seen a movie, and The Last of Us debuted as an HBO series. Vehicles are next on Sony's list as the Gran Turismo film is set to release in August 2023, and a TV series based on the vehicular combat mayhem of Twisted Metal is deep in development for Peacock.
Twisted Metal will star the likes of Stephanie Beatriz, Anthony Mackie, Thomas Haden Church, and Richard Cabrel. Sweet Tooth will be physically portrayed by professional wrestler Samoa Joe and is voiced by Will Arnett, who is also one of the producers for Peacock's Twisted Metal series. Filming wrapped up in late August 2022 and could see a 2023 release.
2 Horizon Could Be A Show Full Of Breathtaking Imagery And Sentient Machines
Netflix
Sony's newest hit franchise, Horizon, has quickly found itself with an upcoming TV series. Horizon is a post-apocalyptic story filled with sentient machines that behave like animals, modern and prehistoric. Horizon stars Aloy, who uncovers a mysterious device of the "Old Ones" that provides her with a vast amount of information and perspective of the world around her. A world that she'll need to save.
Not much is known about Netflix's Horizon series, as it was only announced in early 2022. Horizon will be developed by Steve Blackman, who was a writer and producer for Fargo as well as the current showrunner for The Umbrella Academy.
1 It's Only A Matter Of Time Before God Of War Appears On Screens
Amazon Prime Video
When Sony announced the Horizon series, they also announced an adaptation of their iconic God of War franchise. God of War is one of Sony's longest ongoing franchises and chronicles Kratos' journey through Greek mythology and, recently, Norse mythology.
The God of War adaptation was officially ordered to series in December 2022 and is reportedly set around the Norse era. God of War is being written by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, both known for The Expanse. The Wheel of Time showrunner Rafe Jenkins will serve as the showrunner for God of War. Cory Balrog, the creative director for the video game series, will serve as one of the executive producers. While no casting announcements have been made, there has been a fan campaign to cast current Kratos voice actor Christopher Judge as the live-action counterpart.