The failure of the TV adaptation of Halo certainly hasn’t put Microsoft off more adaptations of its video games. That’s according to Microsoft gaming chief Phil Spencer, who has said fans can expect more in the future.
Spencer spoke to Variety ahead of the launch of A Minecraft Movie, the big screen, Jack Black-starring adaptation of the Microsoft-owned sandbox video game Minecraft. Big things are expected of it, and if it does well, it could spawn sequels.
It’s the latest Microsoft video game to get either a movie or TV show, and follows the phenomenally successful Fallout Prime Video series (Season 2 is on its way). But the TV adaptation of Microsoft’s flagship Xbox game, Halo, failed, suffering a cancelation after two big-budget seasons were poorly received.
Microsoft has learned from Halo, Spencer told Variety, and is gaining confidence in the space. And so, expect more to come.
“We’re learning and growing through this process, which is giving us more confidence that we should do more,” Spencer said.
“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.’ ”
The question is, what Xbox game could we see adapted next? In 2022, Netflix announced a live-action film adaptation and animated television series based on Gears of War. Unfortunately we’ve heard little since, save MCU star Dave Bautista’s occasional call to be cast as Marcus Fenix.
Let’s have some fun speculation. Perhaps, given the success of Fallout, Prime Video might be interested in an Elder Scrolls / Skyrim TV show? With The Rings of Power and The Wheel of Time, Amazon may feel it has fantasy covered though.
Sony made a Gran Turismo movie and against all odds it seems to have been successful. Could Microsoft give the go-ahead to a Forza Horizon movie?
Microsoft owns Activision Blizzard, of course. Perhaps it’s finally time for a Call of Duty movie, or another stab at a Warcraft adaptation. In his book, Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment, reporter Jason Schreier revealed that Activision Blizzard had series in development with Netflix for Warcraft, Overwatch, and Diablo, but they all fell by the wayside. Could Microsoft help revive the projects?
On a more family friendly note, Microsoft now also owns Crash Bandicoot, which you’d think would be good for an animated movie or TV series, given the success of the likes of Mario and Sonic on the big screen. I’d love to see Fable, which is set for a reboot in 2026, enjoy an adaptation of some kind.
And finally, could Microsoft give Halo another go with a big-budget movie?
Microsoft’s console rivals Sony and Nintendo seem further along this process. Sony has seen huge success from the Uncharted movie, HBO’s The Last of Us, and even Twisted Metal is getting a Season 2. Sony has announced a Helldivers 2 movie, a movie adaptation of Guerrilla’s Horizon Zero Dawn, and an anime adaptation of Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima. The God of War TV show is already down for two seasons.
As for Nintendo, it has the most successful video game adaptation of all time under its belt: The Super Mario Bros. Movie. A sequel is in the works, as is a live-action adaptation of The Legend of Zelda.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
