What Happened to Video Game Movie Tie-Ins

The year is 2006, and a young black kid is burgeoning into his nerdy identity when a certain blockbuster film makes its theatrical debut. That film was Superman Returns (2006), one of the most miscast and convoluted superhero films that I have ever seen. At this point, as a kid, I did not give a second thought to things like actors and their performances. Things like that never swayed my blind dedication to the superhero genre. All I knew was that Superman, as a concept, was awesome and the actor Brandon Routh, to me, relatively brought a familiar yet unique cadence to the character through his performance. I did not hate him as Superman at all, honestly. The film was released on June 28, 2006, to an unsurprising mixed response. Just when I thought my Superman experience was over, subsequently in November 2006, Electronic Arts published a Superman Returns video game developed by EA Tiburon. The Superman Returns video game is probably EA’s attempt to make the most comic book nerdy wet-dream that they possibly could. The game basically had no story, no character development, or even many scenery changes. It was the weirdest Superman experience, but by 2006 it was the most immersive Superman game of all time. The flying, the use of super-strength, super abilities, and superspeed was passable for the time it came out. And to me, and my tiny underdeveloped nerdy brain, that was all I needed to enjoy that game.

Fast forward to the year 2021 and Superman and its video game counterpart are pretty much nonexistent. Obviously, I am not referring to any Lego spin-offs and other iterations of Superman in other video games. Superman as a character deserves his own more updated video game franchise in an open-world setting. Then it occurred to me, whether the 2006 game was made with pure intentions or for profit, it is hard to deny that the SR video game prolonged the life of its franchise and the conversations around the film it’s loosely based on. The concept of video games being created from an already existing IP has been a steadily walked experiment for decades. There are many iterations of this up until 2017 when these movie-to-video game tie-ins start to slow down. Even then, this did not stop notable standouts like Blair Witch (2019) developed by Bloober Team, and John Wick Hex, based in the John Wick universe, developed by Bithell Studios also released in 2019. 

When it comes to prolonging the life of any entertainment medium, no one medium has mastered this art form better than the video games industry. No other system is more impactful, cost-effective, creatively driven, and profitable than video game DLC’s and expansions. In a time engulfed in franchises, sequels, and prequels, the medium of gaming allows for a way more controlled avenue for experimenting and exploring new worlds, created from films, to expand on any overarching ideas. Unfortunately for film studios, a lot of their extra resources and budget expenses go towards marketing, which can greatly benefit the project or end up hurting the profit margins. An article from Daily Forty-Niner refers to how movie studios spent millions on marketing for films like Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017) only to end up with disappointing box office performances. I can without a doubt guarantee that a Blade Runner 2049 game—set in its lush and thought-provoking universe—would have greatly benefited from an open world or even indie-developed iteration. The player would then have time to explore and digest the expounded philosophical ideas and existential subject matter. A video game iteration would extend the life of the franchise and may recoup some of the money for Warner Bros. Pictures in the process.

In an attempt to receive more innovative content that both benefits the gaming industry and the film industry, it should go without saying that the gaming community will identify obvious uninspiring games that only serve as pathetic attempts to boost profits. This is not an excuse to churn out mind-numbing, soulless, or abhorrent cash grabs that not only insult the audience and diminish the work of the IP. I am suggesting a genuine avenue for film studios to collaborate with the games industry to hopefully save some of the worlds that were not fully fleshed out through films. Investing in video game spin-offs or side stories would save millions in marketing costs and maybe garner more interest in original IP being created. A similar idea is already being explored with the Cyberpunk 2077 IP expanding into the anime world. Who knows, maybe when it’s time for a film to have a sequel or prequel, there will already be a dedicated audience from other mediums that are ready to support the next step in the franchise.