27
votes
Atari makes Universal movie deal for ten iconic game properties
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- Title
- Atari Signs Deal With Universal To Turn 10 Iconic Games Into Movies
- Authors
- Mike Fleming Jr
- Published
- Jul 23 2026
- Word count
- 286 words
My kneejerk reaction is that all of these are completely useless IPs. A bunch of games without any story to them...a few familiar sprites here and there...but that's about it? Like aside from calling it "Asteroids" (which would have little selling power) what would you do with an Asteroids movie that you couldn't legally do with any generic space movie that includes a reference to the original game?
It's like when they made Battleship....why did that need the board game's IP? You could've made a naval alien movie and thrown in those exact same references without infringing on the IP....
The only thing that would be interesting there is if they did like "how it was made" type movie like the Tetris movie from a few years back. But I don't think buying the IP would be sufficient since it'd be the story of real people. Or like a Wreck-It-Ralph type thing where it's ALL THE IP at once as the setting..but then you're just retreading old ground.
Also they’re old as fuck. Screams of a boomer thinking any video game IP is going to be Mario or Minecraft.
Wow how awesome these movies would have been in 1985.
For what it's worth, Namco got a half decent short story and metroidvania out of pac man. It could be done, but you're going to have to be creative, go outside the formula, and poke some fun at yourself. So the antithesis of the average Hollywood bean counter project.
Do you get a discount for Centipede if you already paid for Millipede? Is one more valuable than the other? I also can't wrap my mind around basing anything on these IPs.
You've kind of got it backwards. The branding adds value to the movie. They aren't making movies out of old games, they are attaching recognizable properties to movies. They're going to make movies either way. That's what they do. Coming with no story or constraints to follow is a feature from the industry's perspective, not a problem to overcome.
You say you're making a movie out of Pong, and people automatically care. They have opinions. They want to know things and talk about it. You say you're making movie X about Y and Z, it's noise, people have already forgotten. You have to work uphill to sell caring to them with ten thousand things competing for attention.
Maybe a satire that's like Marty Supreme but Pong
I'm somewhat disappointed ET isn't in here. It would make absolutely no sense, of course, but it would also be hilarious.
Now I'm imagining this as a video game version of The Producers. Studio sets out to make the worst possible movie in order to claim tax loss, accidently create something so bad it's good and becomes a runaway hit.
....and then the mandatory sequel is actually garbage.
Pong?
Theyre making a movie about Pong??
They're making a series about Tetris*...
*no, not the biopic
Ok I'm going to come up with plots for each. No AI was used in creating this comment.
Asteroids
Adventure
Berzerk
Breakout
Centipede
Crystal Castles
Millipede
Missile Command
Pong
Yars’ Revenge
Wouldn't Millipede only be 10 times as much as Centipede? The Mille prefix in this context is 1000.
That aside, I'd watch most of those movies. They seem fun.
The missile command idea is actually great. I'd watch that.
...you know, I'm still skeptical, but they have a point. Most of these games are so barebones that there's infinite possibility for crafting a story. They're (mostly) not constrained by an existing plot, and the simple graphics there's no pressure to make visuals that match some specific image.
The challenge is making them still recognizable and relevant to the gamez. Some are really obvious and easy (Crystal Castles just needs... Well, a crystal castle, Centipede and Millipede just need monsters to fight that match the title, and from what a quick skim of Wikipedia Yars' Revenge actually has a plot), but others... Genuinely curious how the heck they plan to make a movie about Pong and Breakout.
I do wonder if they plan to combine some IPs rather than make 10 movies. Or maybe they had to license them as a bundle for some reason.
The same way that the excellent Tetris (2023) movie was made, in a sardonically gritty biopic meets psychedelic hallucinatory trip kind of way. That's my ideal.
Either that, or go the path of the movie Circle (2015), and just drop some random people into a room with no knowledge or explanation of what's going on, and then add giant terrifying balls and bricks coming at them. Survival at all costs - You either Breakout or get Pong'd.
Yeah I had a snide remark, but remembered what a creative can do like Gerwig with Barbie so I held my tongue -- didn't know about this Tetris movie, that actually seems good?
I mean I didn’t not like Circle but I’m also a sucker for simple plot movies like Phone Booth. Don’t know if it’s a genre by itself. Besides that I agree with you
If they treat like Futurama did, then it might work.
I don't know why you'd go see any of those when you could just watch Pixels 10 times.
Pixels Pixels Pixels Pixels Pixels Pixels Pixels Pixels Pixels Pixels lesbians
I had no idea where that was going, but it ended up being surprisingly relevant in this context. That was quite a ride. Thank you.
I really want to know what you do with a Pong movie. Is it like a future death sport where each player is in one of the paddles? Is it about a kid in the 70s who's about to play the most important pong match of his life?
A meteor is hurtling towards Earth and the only way to stop it from ending all life on Earth is to send a rubber paddle into space to deflect the meteor. NASA/SpaceX/whoever-sponsors-it barely manages to pull it off, and it seems all is saved, but then it's revealed aliens sent the meteor at Earth... and they have their own paddle!
Suddenly remembered this 20 year old fake trailer for a Tetris movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE_1KlWFJyA
Really hoping for something like this.
That reminded me of this similarly aged fake trailer for Minesweeper The Movie
It's not whether or these games are worth making movies out of, it's whether or not you own the licensing. The current keeper of Atari looks to make bank by exploiting these properties in a game where they own all the rules.
Well-made movies can flop. Movie stars grow old and become controversial. No, if you're a savvy investor, you'll put your money into a licensed property, one that allows for licensing merchandise, one that can replace actors at will. It doesn't matter if it stinks; what matters is that they keep all the money, especially in a situation where it becomes a hit.
This isn't surprising news at all. They've been doing this for years with board games and toys, and the new trend involves internet trends something something backrooms. Michael Bay is doing a movie about the Skibidi toilet meme. Even though smash hits like The Odyssey suggest moviegoers like watching good movies about good stories, we're not going to get breakout original Hollywood movies like Back to the Future again. Investors aren't going to pony up for a shot in the dark when they can invest in something that already has huge name recognition like Pong and Centipede.
And it will make money. Atari has huge cultural significance with the 50+ crowd. It's huge for retro gaming and know-it-all hipsters. Sure, it's not Call of Duty, but to an investor, it still represents a safe bet that will be huge if it pays off.
It doesn't matter if these movies will be good or not. It doesn't matter if they are authentic to the lore or if Chris Pratt will dress as a game-accurate green rectangle as he jumps around in a field of mushrooms. This is the way that big blockbuster movies will be made from now on. It won't be made unless somebody somewhere can make a billion dollars off of it.
I wonder if Atari is thinking this will help propel their hotel venture. I'm skeptical as to if it will ever even be fully built.
AFAIK that isn’t a thing anymore. I seem to remember that was a thing the owners of the name were doing before Infogrames bought them and assumed the name for their company.
Does not adblockers.
On a side note. Atari and Sega have done pretty okay after their consoles imploded. Don't miss the jaguar 64, but the dreamcast was way ahead of the curve