Video games have long been a source of inspiration for Hollywood writers and producers. It all started with movies such as Super Mario Bros. (1993), Street Fighter (1994), and Mortal Kombat (1995), but those early adaptations were nowhere near as good as today’s.
There are now countless video game adaptations and many more in the pipeline. Revealed here are some of the best video game adaptations that have hit the big screen in recent years (or bypassed the cinemas and went straight to streaming sites like Netflix or Prime) and a closer look at why they have become such a rich source of inspiration for Hollywood in the 2020s.
What are the most famous video game adaptations?
Over the past decade, there has been a surge in video game film and TV show adaptations because of the ever-growing demand for this type of content. Some of the most famous examples include the following hit titles, which many of you will already be familiar with by now:
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Year: 2024
- Pokémon Detective Pikachu. Year: 2019
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Year: 2023
- Tomb Raider. Year: 2018
- Uncharted. Year: 2022
- Assassin’s Creed. Year: 2016
- Five Nights at Freddy’s. Year: 2023
Others include Werewolves Within (2021), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022), Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), Mortal Kombat (2021), Rampage (2018), The Angry Birds Movie (2016), Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001), and Monster Hunter (2020).
That’s not forgetting Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010), D.O.A: Dead or Alive (2006), Silent Hill (2006), Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021), Warcraft (2016), Need for Speed (2014), Doom (2005), Max Payne (2008), Hitman (2007), and Borderlands (2024), to name just a few.
We are also seeing a similar thing happening in the global multi-billion-dollar iGaming industry, but in the opposite way, where several top-tier, market-leading software providers and game development studios have looked to the movie industry for inspiration. For example, on today’s safest casino sites, you can now play hundreds of feature-rich online slots based on famous movies, such as The Goonies, Gremlins, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Jurassic Park, Jurassic World, Jumanji, Ted, Gladiator, Beetlejuice, Terminator 2, Robocop, Top Gun, and countless others.
Why is Hollywood increasingly relying on adaptations from the gaming industry?
The short answer is money! These movies (and TV shows) generate huge amounts of revenue for the studios. However, it wasn’t always like this. In the early days of adaptations, movies didn’t make too much money and were often slated by viewers and panned by critics. These days, it’s the total opposite. People who enjoy playing video games also tend to enjoy watching movies at home or at the cinema, and when the movies stay true to the original video game, those adaptations usually become instant hits with audiences. Additionally, you don’t necessarily need to be a gaming enthusiast to enjoy these adaptations.
You can also like it to book-to-movie adaptations (when movies are made based on the original book). Sometimes they work, and other times they don’t. However, Hollywood seems to have mastered the knack of translating the biggest storylines from video games to film. Hollywood writers, directors, and producers also have the creative freedom to expand on an existing narrative that has already proven successful in the gaming world. They use their magic to create blockbuster movies based on popular storylines and characters. Much of the success of these adaptations is because Hollywood stays true to the original game.
Final thoughts
As the gaming industry continues to grow and as technology evolves side-by-side, we will likely see even more high-quality adaptations being released more frequently over the coming years, and they will no doubt continue to attract large audiences and feed the growing demand. In 2025 alone, moviegoers and gaming enthusiasts can look forward to several upcoming releases, such as A Minecraft Movie (arriving April 4), Until Dawn (April 25), Mortal Kombat 2 (October), and Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (December).
The adaptations seem to keep on improving thanks to bigger budgets and better storytelling, writing, and acting. They offer a unique view and perspective of our favourite games and continue redefining how we consume video games and movies. Some experts have also suggested that the next big thing in the movie industry will be VR movies, which will offer an even more interactive, engaging, and immersive experience for audiences worldwide.
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