There have been a number of recent successful video game adaptations that have bucked the trend of messy, loosely based productions. The Last of Us has claimed multiple awards across its two seasons, and Amazon’s Fallout show is enormously popular, with its second season right around the corner.
However, while these might look to be successful in their own right, new findings suggest that on-screen adaptions are just as healthy for the inspiration material, as it is for the television studios.
A strong TV adaptation has been shown make a player more likely to go back and play the game that it was based on.
Positive Effects of Video Game Adaptions
Research undertaken by Ampere Analysis revealed that the Fallout TV show boosted the franchise’s playerbase by 490%, with 80% of those first-time players.
This shows the impact that crossing into a new medium can have for broadening appeal. Also successful, though not to the same degree, was The Last of Us, boosting the number of players 150% across its two seasons.
Do Movies Work Too?
While it might seem as though the answer would obviously be yes, movies are a form of media that are consumed in a very different way to TV shows. The findings by Ampere Analysis reflect that TV shows are more effective in this regard.
Not only are they shorter, but a new movie often requires people to leave their home, whereas streaming Fallout on Amazon Prime on your console and immediately switching over to Fallout 4 only requires a handful of button presses and very little movement.
Of course, with the likes of the upcoming Mario Galaxy movie, and big screen adaptions of Sonic, these are arguably less about getting players to a specific game and more about positioning an iconic and profitable mascot in an untapped market.
Upcoming Adaptations
Of course, these boosts to player numbers can have a large impact on how favourably that franchise is seen from that moment on.
With that in mind, here are some upcoming TV adaptations that might shift the needle for some series:
- Splinter Cell: Deathwatch (Animated, Netflix) – October 14th 2025
- The Witcher – Season 4 (Netflix) – October 30th 2025
- Fallout – Season 2 (Amazon Prime) – December 17th 2025
- God of War (Amazon Prime) – TBD
- Mass Effect (Amazon Prime) – TBD
- Gears of War (Animated, Netflix) – TBD
- Ghost of Tsushima: Legends (Animated, Crunchyroll) – TBD
- Assassin’s Creed (Netflix) – TBD
