Filmmakers adapting video games don’t have to be fans — but it helps

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The movie industry is making more adaptations of video games than ever before, and the dynamics of the forms of media have changed. At GamesBeat Summit 2022, three panelists (moderated by Alexandra Del Rosario of Deadline Hollywood) covered the topic of transmedia and the future of game franchises, especially on film and TV.

Film adaptations of video games have had a thorny history. At one point it was something of a mark of pride for a game to get a film adaptation, but gamers (and filmgoers in general) also knew they couldn’t expect them to be good. David Stelzer, director of Unreal Engine Games Business and one of the panelists, said the oft-mocked quality of game-to-film adaptations came from the game creators themselves not having much control.

“The power, for a long time, was the movie studios and traditional media companies who said, ‘Yeah, that’s is not your space. You can license us those rights.’ Most people don’t realize once the game company gives that up, in the old days, they had no more say about that project,” said Stelzer. “You started to see the power switch. IP holders wanted to hold onto the rights and control that destiny.”

Now filmmakers are making more of an effort to meet games on their own terms and respect the source material. Carter Swan, senior producer at PlayStation Productions, says, “I don’t always need a video game fan to adapt a game, but I need somebody who understands what makes the game great, what makes the characters great, and what makes the fans love it. If they can understand that, I can help guide them to not making canon mistakes. That part’s easy. It’s the spirit of it.”

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