The Future of Gaming: Netflix and Minecraft Team Up for Animated Series
The world of gaming is about to get a whole lot more exciting, as Netflix has announced plans to release an animated series based on the best-selling video game of all time, Minecraft. The reveal dropped during the game’s 15th-anniversary celebration, and fans are buzzing with excitement.
A sneak peek at the upcoming animated series
The teaser trailer shows a green creeper character from the game scuttling into the middle of a black screen before exploding in a pixelated grey cloud. Once the fog clears, the camera sweeps into an underground cavern filled with lava, before closing in on a red Netflix “N” logo on top of a volcanic rock.
“This just happened: The best-selling game of all time & the biggest streamer in the world are teaming up to bring you a brand new Minecraft Netflix animated series.”
The show will feature an original story with new characters, and more information will follow soon. This is big news for fans of the game, and it’s clear that Netflix is committed to bringing high-quality gaming content to its platform.
The partnership that’s got everyone talking
Video game adaptations are big business in Hollywood right now, with many big-name franchises either in development or heavily rumored to be on the way. Recent releases, including the Mario Bros Movie, The Last of Us, and Fallout, have reversed the trend of video game adaptations being critical and commercial failures.
Netflix has already had success with animated versions of beloved games, including an anime inspired by the Castlevania series, Cyberpunk: Edge Runners, and League of Legends spin-off Arkane. A Minecraft movie, starring Jack Black as playable character Steve, is due to hit cinemas next April.
A first look at the upcoming Minecraft movie
Xbox maker Microsoft bought the rights to Minecraft in 2014 for $2.5bn. It also owns Bethesda, the studio behind the Fallout series, which saw a huge spike in players after Amazon released a show inspired by the games last month. Minecraft has already sold 300 million copies, but Xbox boss Phil Spencer has spoken about keeping players engaged with the company’s games, and tie-ins on film and TV are one way to do that.
In other gaming news, Netflix is tapping its plethora of popular unscripted series to expand its burgeoning video games business. The streamer has announced four new interactive fiction mobile games rolling out this year based on its top reality TV franchises: Netflix Stories: Perfect Match, Too Hot to Handle 3, The Ultimatum: Choices, and Netflix Stories: Selling Sunset.
A sneak peek at the new mobile games
Each of the four games will launch alongside the new season of their respective reality TV series, and will include in-universe versions of Nick Lachey (host of Perfect Match) and Chloe Veitch (host of The Ultimatum: Choices, and a workshop guru in Too Hot to Handle 3).
The life story of video gaming’s original rock star, John Romero, is also coming to the screen. Romero, known as the godfather of first-person shooter and for his pioneering work on titles including Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, and Quake, is having his life story adapted for the screen. A documentary and drama adaptation of Romero’s autobiography, Doom Guy: Life in First Person, are in the works.
A look at the life of gaming pioneer John Romero
It’s an exciting time for gamers and Netflix subscribers alike, with a slew of new content on the horizon. Whether you’re a fan of Minecraft, reality TV, or gaming pioneers, there’s something for everyone in the world of Netflix gaming.
The future of gaming is here
