Video game movies and TV adaptations have finally caught on with repeated success from franchises such as Super Mario, Pokemon, and Sonic. Hence, Sony is now among those who want to fully capitalize on that potential and has committed to making not just one, but several additional video game movies, with the latest ones being Helldivers 2 and Horizon.
During Sony’s CES 2025 (Consumer Electronics Show) presentation, the media and electronics giant confirmed two additional upcoming projects on top of the already existing ones such as the live-action and anime Ghost of Tsushima adaptation. Helldivers 2 and Horizon Zero Dawn are now getting their own live-action film treatments.
The announcement came from PlayStation Productions’ very own head, Asad Qizilbash. Qizilbash is also notable for projects such as the Uncharted movie and The Last of Us series for HBO.
“Looking ahead as to what might come next, I’m excited to announce we are working with Sony Pictures on developing a film adaptation of our amazingly popular PlayStation game Helldivers 2,” Qizilbash presented.
He also had something similar to say about Horizon, “Just imagine, Aloy’s beloved origin story set in a vibrant, far future world filled with the giant machines, brought to you for the first time on the big screen.”
The Helldivers 2 will be a collaboration between Sony Productions and Sony Pictures, but the Horizon Zero Dawn movie will be between PlayStation Studios and Columbia Pictures. It’s not clear yet when Sony plans to release the two films, but Sony isn’t stretching itself thin given how different studios will be handling the projects.
Additionally, there’s also the upcoming Ghost of Tsushima production directed by John Wick‘s Chad Stahelski though there’s also no report on when that will be released. Sony also plans to bolster the popularity of its own streaming service, Crunchyroll, with an exclusive Ghost of Tsushima anime.
Needless to say, it’s going to be a busy decade for Sony and video game movies and series adaptations in general.
AAA Video Game Film Adaptations, the New Goldrush
Of course, it’s no coincidence or random whim that Sony decides to splurge on video game movie and series adaptations. Even its critic flop, Uncharted, managed to earn $400 million while having a budget of $120 million. And of course, The Last of Us series in partnership with HBO, was widely popular and successful.
Five Nights at Freddy‘s, while only having a budget of $20 million, raked in nearly $300 million at the box office despite being panned by critics.
Sega has seen much success too, with its Sonic trilogy recently crossing $1 billion in box office revenue. Nintendo is at the top, as usual, with its Super Mario Bros. movie earning $1.36 billion (with a $100 million budget) and Detective Pikachu earning $450 million.
So you can imagine that Sony also wants a piece of the pie and it has brought out its most modern heavy-hitters. Helldivers 2, for example, presumably has millions of players and fans already, poised to buy tickets.
