Hollywood's Game IP Gold Rush

Screen Play, a transmedia conference held as part of the London Games Festival, drew twice as many attendees in its third year compared to 2025 — a clear signal of how intensely the worlds of gaming and film are converging.

Helene Juguet, managing director of film and TV at Ubisoft, stated at the event that nearly 25% of all Hollywood films in production over the coming years will be based on video games. If accurate, this sets the stage for a wave of game-based films not unlike the superhero movie deluge of the past decade.

A24's adaptation of Elden Ring, written and directed by Alex Garland, has already begun shooting in the UK. The race for game IP has moved from development pipelines to active production.

Why Now — The Shifting Power Balance

Mark Maslowicz, VP of partnerships and investments at Tencent, explained the change in dynamics: "In the past, Hollywood would pick a game and make their version of it, often straying too far from the source material. But as gaming has become a bigger business in its own right, game companies are doing a better job of keeping creative control."

Dmitri M. Johnson, co-founder of Story Kitchen — behind the Sonic the Hedgehog films and the upcoming Tomb Raider TV series — revealed Hollywood's underlying mindset through an executive's candid admission: "I don't understand games and probably never will. But I believe you think it's the future, so I'm betting on that." Hollywood wants the audiences games have built; it just doesn't know how they were built.

From Super Mario to Elden Ring — A History of Adaptation

Game-to-film adaptations have historically been a chronicle of failure. Dennis Hopper's King Koopa in the 1993 Super Mario Bros. film remains a cautionary symbol of IP mishandling. Doom, Hitman, and Prince of Persia followed in critical and commercial ignominy.

The tide turned in the 2020s. HBO's The Last of Us earned critical acclaim and strong viewership, while The Super Mario Bros. Movie crossed $1.3 billion globally. Today's filmmakers grew up playing games — Exit 8 director Genki Kawamura is a prime example — giving them a deeper understanding of the source material.

Outlook [Expert Analysis]

Beneath the transmedia excitement lie significant legal risks. Simon Pulman, a partner at New York law firm Pryor Cashman, warned attendees that under California law, replying to a film contract email with something like "Yes, that sounds good" may constitute legally binding acceptance. For game company legal teams unfamiliar with entertainment contract norms, such traps are likely to become real liabilities.

Looking ahead, two structural shifts are likely to reshape this market. First, as game companies gain negotiating leverage, creative control clauses will become central to deal-making. Second, the sheer volume of adaptations is likely to trigger a quality-sorting phase, where fidelity to source material and storytelling craft become the deciding factors. Games and movies are rushing into bed before truly knowing each other — and the growing pains are likely far from over.