In the last 18 months, we’ve seen an abundance of gaming IPs making their way to TV and cinema screens and almost universally being met with high-praise from critics, fans of the franchise and non-gamers alike. Historically, game-to-film adaptations have largely been dubbed as ‘popcorn movies’ which under-perform both in ticket sales and in fan expectation, until recently. 

Celebrated titles including The Last of Us, Fallout, Super Mario Bros and Five Nights at Freddy’s are redefining the world of gaming IP adaptations. Not only are fans being inspired to revisit the IPs they once loved, but completely new audiences have also been attracted to the world of gaming.   

As a result of this, entertainment giants are recognising the creativity, innovation and originality seen in games and how this can now deliver the strong narratives, captivating characters and immersive environments that TV and film require. 

Here, Sumo Digital’s Licensing and Business Development Director Benjamin Godwin gets into the details of gaming adaptations, the world of transmedia licensing and takes a deep dive into how adapting your game to another media can create a whole new audience. 

THE RISE OF LICENSING: Why We’re Seeing Games Go Hollywood 

Games have always been the underdog when it comes to entertainment and media and for the longest time, were even considered an inferior art form when compared to behemoth industries like cinema, music and television. While these industries were made to be savoured, revisited and cherished by audiences, games were perceived to be made to be played, completed and dropped. 

But as the cinematic, storytelling and immersion capabilities of gaming grew, they started to be taken seriously in the world of entertainment, blurring the lines between games, art and cinema. These interactive gaming worlds provide the perfect base for adaptations to the big screen, as they’re packed with rich stories, deep and complex characters and a built-in fan-base ready to show their loyalty to their favourite IPs. 

This, combined with a generation of filmmakers, producers and directors who harbour fond memories of playing games, are the reasons we’re seeing box-office-busting releases built on gaming franchises. 

This process is cyclical. As gaming popularity increases, more games are adapted to other media, audiences increase, which ultimately expands the opportunities to license in other areas. 

So why now?  

With the rise of streaming platforms, there’s an increased need for continuous, high-quality content and a preference for projects which have relevancy, virality and ready-made audiences. Games are an obvious fit for these criteria and hence are securing more funding from these media giants. 

In addition, the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike not only halted production of many shows, but also impacted the way studios source their stories. There was a dramatic shift in mindset, moving away from a traditional writing and production approach to something more stable, established and with more guarantee of success. 

As these adaptations continue to perform well at the “box office”, it seems inevitable we’ll continue to see gaming IP transformed into new media. This can only benefit the games industry, as these adaptations not only reinvigorate old IPs, they dramatically increase attention and sales of associated games. 

Take for example, The Last of Us [see below]. Looking at its popularity using Google Trends, we’re able to see that when the franchise began in 2013 it received a high volume of search traffic. However, that number more than doubles to reach the ultimate peak it experienced in February of 2023 when the series released.  

Why? Because it became popular in the mainstream. Suddenly everyone’s ‘non-gamer’ friends, family members and colleagues were all eager to discuss the latest developments for Joel and Ellie. 

[Google Search Volumes for ‘The Last of Us’ between January 2013 to December 2023. Identified are three key spikes of interest with the all-time peak being when the series released on HBO in January of 2023]

It’s no surprise then, to see IP-holders, games studios and development teams changing their scheduled release dates in preparation for titles heading for the big screen.  

Immediately prior to the release of the Amazon Prime Fallout series in April 2024, Bethesda announced that free updates for Fallout 4 would be coming to next-gen consoles and PC. This update included the introduction of Performance/Quality mode settings, 60 fps gameplay, stability improvements and widescreen/ultra-widescreen support alongside several other tweaks and improvements. This free update dropped just two weeks after the release of this TV adaptation, seemingly primed and ready to welcome hordes of new players to the Wasteland. 

THE ADAPTATION EFFECT: Driving New Players to Your Game 

In the days leading up to the Fallout series releasing, SteamDB showed that individual player counts for Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 had all doubled. It’s not just a case of franchise fans swotting up on their Fallout facts either. The weekend after the show dropped, Fallout 76 saw its highest ever Steam player count, which released almost four years before. Fallout 4 (released 2015) also jumped to the number one spot in Europe the week after the show premiered, with its sales increasing 7500% week-on-week. Additionally, GI.Biz reported that mobile spin-off title Fallout Shelter saw its daily revenue more than triple around the release period of the show, with the number of daily downloads rising 20% within 24 hours of the show’s debut.

[Ella Purnell as vault-dweller out of water, Lucy, in Fallout 2024. Image source: Prime Video]

As game development becomes more complex and hardware capabilities improve, development cycles for AAA games, like Fallout, continue to increase. Couple this with bigger budgets, more competition within the industry and attention spans of players decreasing, the release of the shows like Fallout keep the IP relevant and build on the believability of the universe, not only retaining player interest but also dramatically increasing the audience.  

With players of the franchise hungry for the next game in the apocalyptic blockbuster, which (allegedly) isn’t due to be released anytime soon, the Prime series landed at exactly the right time to generate excitement.  

Elsewhere, The Last of Us Part I saw an astronomical jump in sales following the release of the HBO adaptation in 2023, increasing by 322% and landing it back in the top game charts at #32. Ten years on from the release of the original game, The Last Of Us became a household series.  

The timing of its release was perfection: a cliffhanger series released throughout January and February of 2023 kept us glued to our screens and made the weeks pass faster, and its stars catapulted this landmark franchise into the heart of popular culture. Suddenly, we were surrounded by memes from the show (which were shot-for-shot remakes of game footage) on social media. Pedro Pascal’s appearance on SNL became the tenth most-watched episode of the year and even resulted in the franchise become the first-ever game to have its own house at Universal’s Halloween Horror nights in Florida, which saw over 1.5 million visitors throughout the 48-night run. 

[Promotion for Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights featuring The Last of Us. Image source: Universal Orlando Resorts 2023.]

Other big screen adaptations of gaming titles include Gran Turismo and Twisted Metal, alongside the Super Mario Bros. Movie and Five Nights at Freddy’s, both of which broke ticket-sale records and continue to do big numbers on streaming platforms.  

These titles have also saw video game releases in the months following their big screen outings, with Nintendo launching Super Mario Bros. Wonder in October 2023, and Princess Peach: Showtime! 

ON THE HORIZON: Games On Screen and in the Real World 

With the success of game adaptations in recent years, it’s evident that the these will continue in the foreseeable future.  

Recently it was announced that Margot Robbie will be producing a new film based on The Sims, not only sending the Sims community into meltdown, but has also created huge interest in the free-to-play title as keen players want to prepare for the film. 

Still to come this year:  

The Borderlands film with a full cast of Hollywood A-listers with fans already eager to see how Cate Blanchett’s Lillith and her team of unlikely heroes will translate to the big screen.  

The third instalment of the Sonic the Hedgehog series that has taken nearly a million dollars in the box office as of writing.  

The Minecraft Movie where we can expect Jack Black to round-out his hattrick of game-to-screen performances alongside Super Mario Bros and Borderlands. 

[ Borderlands movie 2024. Image source: Lionsgate] 

And that’s not all, as the games industry continues to grow into the world of licensing and seize opportunities for their IP to grow its presence, we’re seeing more games stepping off of the screen and into the real world. From concerts to coasters, to aquariums and agents, and solar events. 

Hit the Track: This collaboration is a great example of ‘permanent licensing’, where partnerships exist for long periods of time with a physical presence in the real world. This year, we’re going to see an expansion to the wildly popular Super Nintendo Land at Universal Studios Japan and the introduction of Donkey Kong Country. Complete with an exclusive rollercoaster which lets visitors ‘jump’ areas of broken track in minecarts. Examples of these types of partnerships are rare but as games continue to expand, we can anticipate more to come in the future. 

Tone Rangers: In April, we saw some of gaming’s most legendary composers take their most notable work to the BBC Concert Orchestra. Presented by Sound of Gaming presenter Elle Osili-Wood, the event not only filled Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall’s 2000+ seats, but was also broadcast to the masses on BBC Radio 3. 

Cosy Gaming in the Real World: The end of March saw the closure of a 6+ month partnership between Nintendo of America and the Seattle Aquarium to create an Animal Crossing: New Horizon’s themed aquarium. During the event, guests could learn about marine wildlife in the company of their favourite Animal Crossing characters and get involved in stamp rallies (as seen in the game). 

Renting Space: At the end of 2023, The Sims 4 celebrated the release of its For Rent expansion pack with a pop-up event in Central London. Utilising the games’ lore and characters, it created an in-universe experience which granted fans the chance to come face to face with the notorious Landgraab family and let their inner property mogul shine through. 

An Eclipse Partner: The Look Up! event, created by NASA in partnership with the NEA, Microsoft and Epic Games for the Spring Solar Eclipse, aimed to educate players about solar eclipses, with a Twitch stream spotlighting eclipse themed Minecraft and Fortnite modes and exclusive events. The event included puzzles for players to solve, new areas to access by moving through different parts of the eclipse’s route, and live footage of the eclipse provided by NASA for players to watch while they play. 

We’re entering into an exciting phase of licensing in the games industry, with developers and publishers keen to get their game seen by bigger audiences. These innovative and creative ways of taking an IP and expanding their horizons are set to continue, and I’m looking forward to seeing where games might pop up next! 

Interested in licensing a Sumo Digital title? Please head over to the Contact Page to talk to us about bringing our IP to the big screen.