There are more streaming networks than ever before, so if you have questions about the future of streaming, then you've come to the right place. All week long, IGN's State of Streaming 3.0 initiative is featuring reviews and in-depth analysis about current streaming providers like Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, and more!
While it still offers an extensive library of full seasons of network shows and classic films, Netflix’s biggest weapon in the streaming wars has been its original content. Netflix is spending $17 billion on original shows and movies that you won’t be able to see without paying them $8.99 to $17.99 a month, while also scooping up exclusive licenses to plenty of media made outside the U.S. These productions run the gamut from soap operas to documentaries, but one area the streaming giant has been seriously investing in is video game adaptations.
That’s no surprise, as Netflix’s rivals are also hoping that games will become the new comic books, providing a built-in devoted audience who will tune in to see their favorite characters brought to life in a new way. HBO is spending a ton of money on its adaptation of The Last of Us and the creators of Westworld are working on a Fallout show for Amazon. But Netflix is showing its power as the first major streaming service by staying ahead of the trend by producing an enormous slate of video game adaptations.
Netflix has already earned huge success with its adaptation of The Witcher, which draws inspiration from both Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels and the CD Projekt Red video game series. The streaming service has also supplemented its extensive selection of anime with animated adaptations of Castlevania and Resident Evil. Video game projects in various stages of production at the streamer include a movie releasing this month, various series, and titles that haven’t even been named yet (and could be stuck in development hell). Here’s everything we know about the many video game adaptations coming to Netflix.
Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series
Release Date: Sept. 10, 2021
While this isn’t actually a Netflix original, the continuation of the Pokemon Journeys anime will be exclusively available on Netflix in the U.S. The show will follow Ash as he fights through the World Coronation Series accompanied by Goh, who is on a quest to catch one of every Pokemon.
The Witcher: Season 2
Release Date: Dec. 17, 2021
Henry Cavill’s Geralt found his destiny in Princess Cirilla at the end of Season 1, and this season will show her training among the other witchers of Kaer Morhen while also learning to harness her powerful magical abilities. The story transitions between Sapkowski’s short story collection The Last Wish and his first Witcher novel Blood of Elves, starting with an adaptation of the tale “A Grain of Truth,” which is a riff on Beauty and the Beast.
Angry Birds: Summer Madness
Release Date: TBA 2021
Building on the success of the 2016 and 2019 films based on the popular mobile game, Netflix announced in 2020 that it was working on an Angry Birds animated series. The family-friendly show will follow teenage versions of Red, Chuck, Bomb, and Stella and their adventures at Camp Splinterwood in what sounds like Angry Birds meets Wet Hot American Summer.
Arcane
Released Date: Fall 2021
The limited-run series based on League of Legends will be Riot Games’ first TV adaptation. It will share the origin stories of sisters Vi and Jinx, two champions from the game, with the action alternating between the oppressed underground of Zaun and the utopian Piltover.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Released Date: 2022
Building on the partnership with CD Projekt Red that led to The Witcher adaptations, Netflix announced in June 2020 that it will release an anime set in the universe of Cyberpunk 2077. Rather than following the game’s plot, the 10-episode limited series will focus on a street kid turned mercenary. Kill la Kill’s Hiroyuki Imaishi will direct the series with Studio Trigger providing the animation and Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka writing the score.
Sonic Prime
Released Date: 2022
Sonic the Hedgehog will be going on an epic adventure through the multiverse in this 24-episode animated series. The Blue Blur will also be on a journey of “self-discovery and redemption,” according to Netflix. Man of Action Entertainment will helm the project. It’s unclear whether the show will be released before Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which will star Idris Elba as Sonic’s frenemy Knuckles.
Assassin’s Creed
Release Date: TBD
Netflix and Ubisoft announced in October that they had inked a deal to develop a genre-bending live-action adaptation of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, which will reportedly be written by Jeb Stuart. Like it has with The Witcher, Netflix will be using Assassin's Creed as the basis for multiple projects that will be both live action and animated.
Beyond Good & Evil
Release Date: TBD
Detective Pikachu director Rob Letterman is working on a film adaptation of Ubisoft’s adventure game that will blend live action with animation. There hasn’t been any news about the project since it was announced in July 2020, so it’s still unclear who the writers will be and how closely the plot will follow the game about an investigative journalist in the year 2435 working with an underground resistance movement on a remote mining planet.
Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix
Release Date: TBD
Netflix announced this anime adaptation of Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon in June. The six-episode project will be helmed by Castlevania’s Adi Shankar, animated by Bobbypills, and directed by Mehdi Leffad. Netflix also used the announcement to share that a second Far Cry anime will also come to the streaming service, but it’s unclear what game it will be based on.
Expanded Castlevania Universe
Release Date: TBD
The current Castlevania series ended its four-season run in May, but before that Netflix announced that it would be streaming a new series set in the same universe but focusing on different characters.
The Cuphead Show!
Release Date: TBD
Wayne Brady plays King Dice, the main antagonist of the animated series that follows the adventures of the impulsive Cuphead and his cautious brother Mugman. While it will share the 1930s animation style of the 2017 game, the show will have an original character-driven comedic story.
Devil May Cry
Release Date: TBD
Shankar is developing an anime based on the Capcom game for his Bootleg Multiverse. This project shouldn’t be confused with the 2007 Japanese show Devil May Cry: The Animated Series.
The Division
Release Date: TBD
Rawson Marshall Thurber will direct The Division film starring Jake Gyllenhall and Jessica Chastain, with Ellen Shanman writing the adaptation. Thurber replaced original director David Leitch, who stepped down due to scheduling conflicts. Like the Ubisoft game it’s based on, the movie follows a group of civilians trying to save what remains of New York’s population after a devastating virus spreads through the city through money spent on Black Friday. This promises to be a pretty messed up Christmas movie.
DOTA: Dragon’s Blood – Season 2
Release Date: TBD
The first season of the animated show based on the MOBA was released in March and Netflix confirmed in April that a second season is coming.
Dragon’s Lair
Release Date: TBD
In March 2020, Ryan Reynolds was reported to be in talks to play the heroic knight Dirk the Daring in a live-action adaptation of the 1983 arcade game, but there haven’t been any updates since.
Pokemon
Release Date: TBD
Lucifer co-showrunner Joe Henderson will write and executive produce a live-action adaptation of Pokemon that aims to build on the success of Detective Pikachu. The series is in early development, with no plot or cast announcements to date.
Resident Evil
Release Date: TBD
Lance Reddick will play the mad scientist Albert Wesker in a live-action series set nearly three decades after the release of the T-virus. The show is currently in production and other cast members include Ella Balinska, Tamara Smart, Siena Agudong, Adeline Rudolph, and Paola Núñez.
Splinter Cell
Release Date: TBD
John Wick creator Derek Kolstad will be writing the animated series based on the Ubisoft franchise. Kolstad said each season will be self-contained aside from developing the hero — who will presumably be black ops agent Sam Fisher — and that he’s drawing inspiration from Westerns.
Tomb Raider
Release Date: TBD
Tasha Huo will write and executive produce the anime series set after the events of Crystal Dynamics’ recent game trilogy. Legendary Entertainment, which worked with Netflix on the Lost in Space remake, and Sonic the Hedgehog film producers dj2 Entertainment will also be part of the project.
The Witcher: Blood Origin
Release Date: TBD
The Witcher and Iron Fist writer Declan De Barra will serve as showrunner for this live-action, limited series set 1,200 years before the events of the main show. The story follows the creation of the first Witcher and the cataclysmic events that brought the worlds of elves, humans, and monsters together. Sarah O’Gorman and Vicky Jewson each direct half of the six-episode series which stars Michelle Yeoh, Sophia Brown, and Laurence O’Fuarain.
What Netflix video game adaptations are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments section!