If you’re a regular moviegoer, there’s a good chance that you saw a film based on a video game in 2026. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie was an obligation for parents. Iron Lung’s cult success turned a niche adaptation into a can’t miss event for horror fans. Resident Evil won over the hardest of cinephiles by making good use of director Zach Cregger in a screwball comedy that still featured legit scares. Even the critically panned Street Fighter has found success as a gleefully dumb popcorn flick. When all is said and done, 2026 might just go down as a landmark year for video game movies.
Buckle up, because that trend is about to kick into full gear. This week, we got a flood of news stories confirming that Hollywood is in a full-on gold rush. The film rights to video games are currently getting snapped up at an alarming rate. While that’s not exactly new for an industry that has a long history of eyeing game movies that never pass the scripting phase, we’re actually seeing significant developments that signal an approaching tidal wave.
While not every planned game adaptation will see the light of day, there are some major ones on the horizon. A24’s Elden Ring, for instance, is quietly being positioned as an event film that could surpass Resident Evil. Recent reports claim that the film has a $200 million budget, making it A24’s most expensive film to date. That’s a major gamble — particularly considering the fantasy genre’s hit-or-miss track record on the big screen — but it already seems to be paying off, seeing as Amazon has locked down exclusive streaming rights for the film. Whether or not it will be a big deal to moviegoers, the film industry is treating it like one.
Elden Ring is just one part of the upcoming wave, which will also include The Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog 4, Call of Duty, Helldivers, A Minecraft Movie Squared, and more. Those aren’t theoretical films that may never see the light of day, but ones with confirmed release dates set through 2028.
There’s way more where that came from, as this week’s news cycle confirmed. The biggest bit of news is that Netflix is developing a live-action PUBG series, with Donald Glover attached to produce, write, and direct. (He’ll also star in the project, making him a quadruple threat.) Hollywood’s rush to turn niche horror games into breakout film hits is set to continue too, as Sony announced that it’s working on an adaptation of Mouthwashing with Karyn Kusama (Yellowjackets) set to direct.
On the animation front, Jacksepticeye has been on a press tour teasing that we might learn who is directing PlayStation production’s Bloodborne movie soon. We also got a fresh look at Death Stranding Isolation, an anime based on Hideo Kojima’s sci-fi series coming to Disney Plus next year.
So, why is all of this happening at once? It may be the product of several intersecting threads. For one, video game adaptations have gradually gained momentum at the box office over the past few years thanks to financial hits like Sonic the Hedgehog, A Minecraft Movie, and more. TV has found similar success thanks to critically acclaimed shows like The Last of Us and Fallout, which have proved that game franchises with a lot of history behind them can give producers a lot of pre-built material to work with. Considering that the superhero movie phenomenon has come back to Earth in recent years, games could be poised to become the new comic books for a Hollywood desperate for new stories.
But those trends also line up with another one currently remaking Hollywood. 2026 has been the year of the content creator filmmaker, with established streamers and young YouTubers catering to the interests of modern audiences with breakout hits like Iron Lung and Backrooms. A lot of the filmmakers currently on the rise have some connection to the world of video games, so it only makes sense that they’d be eyeing games once they get a blank check from studios to make their next project. This week, for instance, rumors began heating up that Backrooms director Kane Parson may follow up his hit with a Portal adaptation.
The reality is that Hollywood is undergoing a significant transformation right now, as it has during various points throughout film history. Culturally savvy directors are rising to the top because of their ability to figure out what young moviegoers who were raised on YouTube and TikTok want to see. It’s not so dissimilar to Hollywood’s ‘60s makeover that elevated bold film school kids like Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese to superstardom. The silver screen has long been a mirror that reflects the culture of the times back at audiences, and right now, video games are more ingrained into our culture than ever.