Microsoft will push for more film and TV adaptations of Xbox games, the company has said. A film based on Minecraft is set to release in theatres next month, and the Xbox parent found success with the Fallout TV series on Amazon Prime Video last year. A TV series based on Halo, Microsoft’s biggest gaming IP, premiered on Paramount Plus in 2022. The show, however, was cancelled after a two-season run.
More Xbox Adaptions on the Way
A Variety report published Wednesday on the making of A Minecraft Movie touched upon Microsoft’s “trial and error” approach to film and TV adaptations of its video game properties. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said that more movies and TV shows based on Xbox games were on their way.
“We’re learning and growing through this process, which is giving us more confidence that we should do more,” Spencer told Variety. “We learned from doing ‘Halo.’ We learned from doing ‘Fallout.’ So all of these build on themselves. And obviously we’ll have a couple that miss. But what I’d say to the Xbox community that likes this work is, ‘You’re going to see more, because we’re gaining confidence and we’re learning through this.’”
Spencer, however, did not share details about Xbox IP set for film and TV adaptations.
Video game adaptations have taken off in the past few years, with TV shows based on League of Legends (Arcane) and Sony’s The Last of Us becoming household names. Bethesda’s Fallout franchise got its own TV adaptation in 2024, with the studio collaborating with TV veterans Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy for the first season of the show on Prime Video. Fallout met with critical acclaim and was lauded by fans of the franchise for its authentic screen adaptation of a familiar video game world. Reception to Microsoft’s Halo TV series, on the other hand, was mixed and the show was cancelled in 2024 after two seasons.
On the film front, Nintendo’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie was a breakout hit of 2023, collecting over $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,605 crore) on the box office globally. Take-Two’s 2024 Borderlands film adaptation, on the other hand, was a critical and commercial failure.
A Minecraft Movie, made in collaboration with Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures, is set to arrive in theaters on April 4.
