While movies adapted from video games have been around for a long time, the recent success of movies such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Unchartedand The Super Mario Bros. Movie rekindled interest in video game movies in general. This is just the beginning of this new video game movie renaissance, as numerous iconic video games are getting their own upcoming movie adaptations, including Metal gear, Ghost of Tsushimaand Yakuza.
However, with so many video game movies being announced and going into production, a number of possibilities for upcoming releases are video games that audiences would never have imagined would become feature films. From movies adapted from cult classics to movies adapted from games with little actual history to go by, the mere existence of certain video game movies makes audiences highly anticipating the mystery of the final product.
10 ‘Pac Man’
Pak Man is one of the most iconic and instantly recognizable classic arcade games of all time, easily becoming a signature icon for video games in general. It makes sense that Pak Man will eventually make the jump to the big screen, as he’s been the star of a number of animated series over the years, but what makes this film adaptation surprising is its jump to Live-Action.
Pak Man has appeared live before, in the Adam Sandler comedy, Pixelsbut everything about this new film suggests that it may find more in common with the recent one Sonic the Hedgehog movie. It will be interesting to see exactly how the classic pellet-chewing icon will translate to the big screen, as at this point most information surrounding the film is purely speculation.
9 Iron Lung (2023)
Iron lung is an upcoming horror film based on the first-person submarine horror game of the same name, which tasks players with navigating the dark and isolated submarine as they travel through an ocean of blood. The movie doesn’t have quite the massive following that other video games have, but it still has a dedicated fanbase that likes the terrifying presence and claustrophobic nature of the game.
Just as surprising as such a niche and underground game getting a theatrical film adaptation is the fact that it’s directed by an iconic internet personality Mark Fischbachbetter known as Markiplier. Given Fischbach’s experience with niche horror games on his YouTube channel, he really seems like the perfect fit to adapt Iron Lung to the big screen, sharing the game’s tense atmosphere with a much wider audience. While the main plot specifics are still unknown, the jaw-dropping teaser trailer does all it takes to get audiences excited for the film’s premiere.
8 “Space Channel 5”
Space Channel 5 is a niche music game franchise from Sega that has the player playing as a futuristic space reporter who fights against villains with the power of dance in their futuristic 60s-style world. The franchise only has a few titles, the most recent being a VR title released in 2020 titled Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda funky news.
Although the franchise only has a few games, the series is often considered a staple aspect of Sega’s lineup, with the characters often found in Sega’s numerous crossover titles. It makes sense that Sega would branch out and adapt more of its colorful franchises to the big screen, following the success of Sonic the Hedgehog, and Space Channel 5 is lively enough to fit the bill. The film is said to be inspired by modern dance and TikTok trends and only time will tell if the film will be able to find the same level of success as Sonic.
7 “homeless”
Homeless is an indie adventure game from 2022 where the player controls a highly detailed and realistic stray cat as he finds himself lost in a futuristic city full of robots and machines. The game received a lot of praise upon release, even being nominated for Game of the Year.
The recently announced film adaptation will be an animated feature from Annapurna Animation, following the studio’s previous success with the Netflix original, Nimona. Stray really seems like a perfect fit for an animated film, as it could perfectly explore and delve into the game’s deep and rich world and setting to full effect. While the game has been a hugely successful recent release, its status as an indie game makes it all the more surprising that a feature film is being made that will hopefully live up to the original game’s legacy.
6 Poppy Playtime
Poppy Playtime is an episodic mascot horror game that follows a former toy company employee who visits the company’s abandoned toy factory 10 years after the staff disappeared. The player soon finds themselves the latest target of the deadly living toys living within, as they must find a way to escape to avoid being their latest victim.
Poppy Playtime hits on many of the same initially innocent but actually horrifying notions of other horror mascots like Five Nights at Freddy’s. Considering how much excitement and enthusiasm there is around what’s to come Five Nights at Freddy’s movie, it makes sense that there are attempts to reignite the flame with such a mascot horror franchise with its own dedicated fanbase. The film is being produced by Studio71, best known for their work on the recent V/H/S horror films, making them a perfect fit for Poppy Playtime’s episodic horror aesthetic.
5 Minecraft (2025)
Minecraft is one of the most recognizable and iconic video games of the 21st century, defined by its limitless possibilities and overflowing with creativity, allowing players to do whatever their heart desires in its blocky world. Despite the game’s immense popularity, there is very little actual story in the game, as it is defined by each individual player’s experience, making a film adaptation difficult.
There are attempts to create a Minecraft feature film for a long time, but the film’s real surprise is less its existence than that it’s finally making progress after all these years. The film actually has a casting choice, with Jason Momoa in the lead role, and the film was set to begin shooting before a delay due to SAG-AFTRA. However, much of what Minecraft the movie is actually still a mystery, although the game’s many fans will surely be there to support the movie when it releases on April 4, 2025.
4 ‘Talking Tom’
Talking Tom is a collection of simple mobile games that have users talk and interact with a collection of anthropomorphic animals that then repeat things back to the user. After exploding in popularity in the early 2010s during the App Store’s peak, the series has massively expanded into countless apps, an animated web series, and now an upcoming theatrical film.
The film attempts to follow the success of a similar mobile game turned cinematic franchise, Angry Birds, using its rich cast of animated characters to appeal to a huge audience of children through the big screen. While the film’s existence makes sense in terms of being the next step in a massively growing children’s entertainment, the original applications still make it that much more shocking. It’s mind-boggling to even think that a feature film is being made out of what was once a cheap gimmick app on the app store, but it goes to show that multi-million dollar franchises can pop up anywhere.
3 Comix Zone
A cult classic Sega title from the 90s, Comic zone was a Beat ’em Up video game that follows a freelance comic book artist who gets sucked into his own book and has to fight his way out. The game is defined by its incredibly detailed weather visuals, as well as its highly creative concept where players literally travel between panels to take down enemies.
Considering the success that Sega has achieved Sonic the Hedgehog, another one of their ’90s-born icons, it makes sense that they’d adapt more properties from that period. even still Comic zone is such a niche and inspired choice for a film adaptation, as it was a unique game released in the 90s that never had anything close to a sequel or sequel in the nearly 30 years since its release. It’s a choice that, more than anything, feels filled with high potential for quality and imagination, as opposed to guaranteed success, which makes it extremely exciting to see what the final product will be.
2 ‘Just Dance’
Just dance is an iconic series of rhythm games that have been released every year since 2009, allowing players to dance along to the most iconic and recognizable pop songs of the time. The games have nothing in terms of actual story or characters, and are much more defined by their movement-based gameplay and extensive library of licensed tracks, making it an odd choice for a film adaptation.
The movie is trying to tap into the core audience and fans of the series who have been playing since the beginning, but there is no telling what this movie will even be about or how they will translate it to the big screen at all. Just dance has technically been seen on the big screen before, played by the characters of The Emoji Movie when they enter the Just dance app. Not exactly promising for the film adaptation, but however they go about it, the film will certainly be better than The Emoji Movie.
1 “Space Invaders”
Space invaders was one of the original smash hits of video games, redefining what was possible with video games as a medium and introducing the entire medium as we know it to a new generation. The game has had an outstanding legacy of over 45 years, finally making the leap from arcade screens to the big screen.
As is the case with many classic arcade games, there is very little when it comes to story or characters within Space invaders, as it’s just a classic shoot ’em up where you shoot aliens to get a high score. Although there have been some less successful attempts to give Space Invaders a story over the years, the game is most often remembered and recognized for its simplicity and iconic origins. This makes it a difficult task to translate the game into a feature film, as evidenced by talk of a film adaptation for more than a decade with no results. Gamers will have to wait and see if New Line can pull off the impossible and make a true film adaptation of such an all-time classic.