Summary
- Sony is adapting more PlayStation IPs into movies and TV shows.
- Reception to the Horizon Zero Dawn movie adaptation was mixed.
- Concerns include the brevity of a movie not doing the game’s story justice.
PlayStation is now rolling full steam ahead in its plans to adapt as much of its IP into movies and TV as feasibly possible. After testing the waters with a few adaptations, at CES 2025, Sony announced Helldivers and Horizon Zero Dawn would be making their way to the silver screen, and Ghost of Tsushima would be getting an anime.
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While the reception to the announcements of all three adaptations was mixed, Horizon Zero Dawn got the most slack, and even fans of the series can’t see why it’s being adapted.
“I’d Be Lying If I Said I Wasn’t Nervous”
Following its announcement, threads discussing the Horizon Zero Dawn movie quickly appeared on the Horizon series, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Horizon Forbidden West subreddits, each one filled with trepidation about what Sony might do.
In one thread, user disposable_sounds said, “Please… No… I love this game, but if Sony’s Uncharted movie is gonna be any indication of the quality of adaptation we’re gonna get, it’s gonna be dog water…” BSBledsoe replied, “Yeah… I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt because I absolutely love Horizon, but yeah, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous.”
This type of conversation was prevalent across all three threads.
In another conversation, nose-inabook said, “Oh my god, I’m so tired of game-to-film adaptations. A movie set in Horizon’s world? Sure! But if it’s the same story as the games, what’s the point? How is film as a medium going to enrich the narrative? We already have long cinematic cut scenes in the game that serve that purpose. What’s the point of telling the same story the same way?”
I’m so tired of game-to-film adaptations. A movie set in Horizon’s world? Sure! But if it’s the same story as the games, what’s the point?
Many of the fears surrounding the Horizon movie came from the fact that two hours is not long enough to tell the deep story of Horizon. “Imo, a 2 hour movie is not enough time to do the story justice. I think a series is still the way to go,” one commenter said, with another echoing similar sentiments. “The problem is that the big reveal in Zero Dawn isn’t going to be as effective after only 45 to 60 minutes,” they said.
These three newly announced adaptations join a long list of Sony projects that have been released or are in the works. Ratchet & Clank made its way to the silver screen in 2016, and was swiftly followed by 2022’s Uncharted and 2023’s Gran Turismo. Over a similar period, both The Last of Us and Twisted Metal were adapted for TV.
Alongside those already released, Sony has a bunch of adaptations in the works. These include a Ghost of Tsushima movie, Gravity Rush movie, Uncharted movie sequel, and God of War TV show, with The Last of Us Season 2 also releasing in April. It looks like Jim Ryan wasn’t kidding when he said Uncharted and The Last of Us’ adaptations were “just the beginning.”
Horizon Zero Dawn has received the remaster treatment. The PS4 game’s visuals have been overhauled for the PS5, and ten hours of dialogue has been re-recorded to bring the first Horizon game up to the same standards as Forbidden West.