Will Sony’s Video Game Adaptations Save Its Failing Franchise?

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Summary

  • PlayStation’s live-service games like Concord have faced cancellations, posing a challenge to their future plans.
  • Sony’s movie industry prospects also face uncertainty, with recent projects like Morbius and Kraven the Hunter underperforming.
  • Sony is focusing on developing video game adaptations for film and TV, with projects like Horizon Zero Dawn and God of War in the works.

Sony’s PlayStation division seems to be experiencing some turbulence. A series of financial missteps, organizational shifts, and cancellations have made it difficult for them to regain momentum following the announcement that more live-service games will be discontinued. The question arises whether Sony is becoming excessively dependent on the success of their video game adaptations, given their recent struggles in both movies and gaming.

As a passionate filmgoer, I’ve always trusted PlayStation’s vision for this generation’s lineup of live-service games, particularly the ambitious project, Concord, developed by Firewalk Studios. Sadly, this film never made it to the big screen. Just weeks after its release, both physical and digital copies were withdrawn, refunds were given to the audience, and Concord was taken down from PlayStation servers. This unfortunate flop wasn’t just a simple course correction; it was a radical strategy aimed at erasing all traces of Concord’s existence from memory. In the aftermath of this disheartening chapter in PlayStation’s history, a series of setbacks have continued to pile up. Games like Twisted Metal, Spider-Man titles, and numerous other live-service games have been axed, along with Sony London Studio’s closure. Most recently, even a live-service God of War title from Bluepoint Games had to be canceled by PlayStation.

Sony’s outlook in the movie industry appears to be less than promising, according to Jared Russo of Sherwood. He elaborates on the hardships that Sony faced in 2024, including the unexpected departure of Phil Lord and Chris Miller from their roles as writers-directors for the Into the Spider-Verse films. This decision postponed the release of the final installment of the trilogy, Beyond the Spider-Verse. It seems that there were already tensions within the production team before the co-leads exited, and as a result, over 100 people left the project prior to its completion, largely due to excessive working hours and stressful conditions.

Sony’s live-action superhero series has seen a significant decline in popularity, with recent releases like Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven the Hunter failing to impress. This, coupled with struggles in their animation and gaming sectors, suggests that Sony is battling on several fronts. The question then arises: where could Sony find its next source of help? Given the vast array of intellectual properties that can potentially bridge console and screen, Sony is placing big bets on the growing market for video game adaptations.

PlayStation Studios has recently unveiled a trailer for the latest IP called “Until Dawn,” but that’s not all they have in store. In a recent CES press conference, it was announced that “Horizon-Zero Dawn,” “Helldivers,” and “Ghost of Tsushima” are all set to be adapted into films. Moreover, “Ghost of Tsushima” is also being developed as an anime series. Several other titles are also slated for the Hollywood treatment, such as “Days Gone,” “Helldivers,” “Gravity Rush,” and “God of War.

It’s quite likely that the strong reception and profits from HBO’s “The Last Of Us” has prompted Sony to move forward quickly on related projects. Although Uncharted was not well-received critically at first, it managed to rake in $401 million globally, demonstrating to studio executives that video game adaptations can still be profitable even if they don’t initially impress critics. However, just because a few successful film and TV projects have been made from video games doesn’t mean every type or genre of video game should be adapted for the screen. For example, Naughty Dog games are relatively straightforward to develop because their narratives follow a straightforward, linear structure that includes numerous cinematic elements.

In light of horror movies’ current popularity and their consistent profitability despite market saturation, it seems fitting that a film like Until Dawn would be successful. However, transitioning a property such as Horizon-Zero Dawn into a movie is likely to pose challenges. If the movie stays true to its original content and vividly depicts robot dinosaurs traversing a post-apocalyptic setting, the CGI department’s budget will be substantial enough to make one wince. This could explain why the initial adaptation, initially planned as a television series with Netflix, was ultimately shelved following years of development. Similarly, the God of War series experienced a change in its showrunner/executive producer, Rafe Judkins, after completing multiple scripts for the first season. These early indicators might hint at Sony’s potential continued struggles, mirroring those of their live-service games.

Consider for a moment the hypothetical situation in which only one of these projects underperforms to a degree similar to Concord’s failure. In such a scenario, would Sony consider cancelling several upcoming film and television adaptations? If a single disappointing release of a live-service game were enough to rattle their confidence in the company’s strategic direction, then what impact could one box office bomb or poor financial showing have on their pipeline of TV and movie projects? It seems evident that after the series of missteps in 2024, PlayStation is eager to regain fan favor and rekindle excitement. However, launching multiple projects so quickly following a previous mistake may be just as risky as it could be successful.

There’s no certainty that people will attend events based on properties they aren’t interested in, not even if it’s a well-known gaming franchise like Borderlands. Last year, the critically panned Borderlands failed to earn more than one-third of its budget. Gamers have expressed dissatisfaction about the lack of games for PlayStation 5 and the cancellation of live-service games, which might mean fewer significant releases during this console generation. The gaming community is growing increasingly frustrated with PlayStation, and it’s crucial that these TV/Film adaptations do well to prove that the brand remains trustworthy.

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2025-02-28 21:57