More Xbox games are getting turned into movies and TV shows.
Xbox has unveiled its plans to expand its most notable gaming IP into wider pop culture, starting with new adaptations for movies and TV. A recent Entertainment Weekly article revealed details for Xbox’s upcoming adaptations of Gears of War, Sea of Thieves, Call of Duty, and more.
Notably, the upcoming Gears of War movie is set to dive into the origin story of Marcus Fenix’s Delta Squad, intersecting with the plot of the upcoming Gears of War prequel video game, E-Day.
What is Netflix’s Gears of War movie about?
As part of an Entertainment Weekly article, several members of the Xbox brand have unveiled details for upcoming projects at the company, including more adaptations tied to its most notable gaming properties. These include not one, but two different adaptations of the Gears of War franchise.
The first is a Gears of War movie directed by David Leitch (The Fall Guy, Deadpool 2) and written by Jon Spaihts (Dune: Part Two, Doctor Strange). According to the outlet, the movie will tell “the origin story of Delta Squad, a ragtag crew of soldiers who wage a desperate war for survival against the Locust, a race of subterranean creatures bent on destroying humanity.”
The movie appears to follow a similar storyline as The Coalition’s upcoming Gears of War: E-Day, which is set before the formation of Delta Squad. Xbox's executive vice president and chief content officer Matt Booty also told the outlet that “the game really is about the bonds between teams. It's about brotherhood at its core. When you go visit the studio, their tagline is 'Never Fight Alone.' So when you think about that for a dramatic narrative, it's a pretty good starting point."
An animated series based on the Gears of War franchise is also in the works, with both projects in development at Netflix.
What is the Sea of Thieves movie about?
Entertainment Weekly also revealed that the multiplayer pirate sandbox game Sea of Thieves is getting a live-action movie adaptation. Spider-Man: Brand New Day director Destin Daniel Cretton is set to produce the film through his production company, Hisako Films. The movie has not picked up a director yet.
Speaking of the movie, Booty explained: “The main character of a Sea of Thieves game is actually the player and the community. So if you sit down to think about Sea of Thieves, it's not, Who are the main characters? What's the plot? It's a super social game, but there's a tone to Sea of Thieves. It's built on a very cooperative community, so you can start to sense what that's going to be like.”
More Xbox properties getting movie and TV series adaptations
That’s not all Xbox has planned for upcoming adaptations, however. A few earlier-confirmed projects are still in development, like the upcoming Call of Duty movie directed by Peter Berg and Taylor Sheridan, bound for the big screen in 2028.
A Minecraft Movie Squared, the sequel to A Minecraft Movie, is in production for a 2027 release. Fallout Season 3 is also in production, following up on the success of the first two seasons.
Minecraft is also set to get an animated series adaptation at Netflix, while the Wolfenstein franchise heads to Amazon Prime Video as a live-action series. Fallout Shelter, on the other hand, is getting turned into a reality competition series.
Entertainment Weekly mentions “over a dozen” adaptations in the works at Xbox, though the company is intent on keeping a few of them secret for now.
