Video game adaptations are more popular than ever right now, but Adi Shankar does not seem convinced that the trend will keep succeeding for long. During an interview with GamesRadar+, the showrunner behind Netflix’s Devil May Cry, shared his concerns about the current state of video game adaptations and explained why he does not believe most of them will become major successes.
Shankar said many announced projects will probably not “come to fruition” because too many people are involved in the process. According to him, the industry has also spent years making big announcements that never actually lead to finished projects, something he says has been happening since the 1990s.
He said, “It’s easy to [say] we’re gonna adapt this game. But that’s nothing new. There have been announcements of comic book movies, video game movies and TV shows. That’s been part of the media cycle since the ’90s, for sure.”
Shankar also believes the market could eventually become overloaded with direct adaptations, especially if companies keep focusing on turning games into movies and shows instead of creating original ideas. He stated, “We’re not going to get to a point where 50 a year are going to be made. They’re announcing a lot… If we’re talking straight adaptations – like we’re treating this video game as a novel – [and] we have 50 of those a year, at that point the audience is going to be really excited about original stuff.”
Another major problem, according to Shankar, is the way companies handle gaming franchises. He believes many adaptations fail because studios treat games more like brands than actual stories. He explained that many successful game franchises are no longer “run by the people that made the games,” but instead by corporations and “brand managers” who treat them like “logos” used across spin-offs, mobile games, and other products.
Because of that, Shankar believes many future adaptations will end up feeling “cringe” to audiences instead of authentic.
