If you’re expecting any of Quantic Dream’s cinematic games to jump to the big screen, don’t. Company president David Cage says the studio isn’t actively pursuing selling the rights to its games for movie adaptations.
But that doesn’t mean Quantic Dream is ignoring movies and TV altogether. Cage says he’s actively following the rise of interactive TV, similar to what Netflix did with Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch.
“[I]f it’s about selling the rights to one of our games to a movie company so they make a movie, it’s not necessarily something we’re actively pursuing,” says Cage in an interview with IGN Japan.
However, Cage says whether Quantic Dream is interested in the TV medium is a separate question entirely. “It’s also interesting to see what Netflix is doing and what other people are doing, experimenting with interactive TV shows. Because it’s really mainstream, it’s about talking to non-gamers, to anyone, and giving them access to the possibility to change the course of the story based on their choices.”
Cage calls this a “simplified version” of the games Quantic Dream already makes but the appeal lies in the chance of reaching a new audience on a new platform with a different interface. But while the interest is there, Cage says “there’s no concrete plan right now with all these things, it’s more like things we keep looking at.”
Still, Cage says Netflix’s attempts at interactive TV are exciting and that “there is a future for interactive storytelling in television.”
Quantic Dream is likely not focusing on movies and TV given it is currently developing the Star Wars game, Star Wars Eclipse, a branching action-adventure game set in the High Republic era. Focusing on multiple protagonists, players will make meaningful choices that affect the storyline.
Star Wars Eclipse was announced at the 2021 Game Awards but has yet to receive an official release date.
Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.
Interview by Daniel Robson of IGN Japan.