PlayStation Productions: Movies, TV, and every project we know about so far
PlayStation Productions is bringing stories from the gaming screen to the silver screen.
Sony Interactive Entertainment is responsible for the PlayStation division of Sony, manufacturing consoles like the PS5 while PlayStation Studios is hard at work on a slate of upcoming first-party games. Meanwhile, PlayStation Productions is helping turn some of those same games into movies and TV shows, spreading PlayStation characters and worlds across different forms of entertainment. Here's every project that PlayStation Productions is confirmed to be working on so far.
What is PlayStation Productions?
PlayStation Productions is a part of Sony Interactive Entertainment, specifically designed to adapt games from PlayStation Studios. Founded in 2019, PlayStation Productions aims to help produce movies and TV shows from Sony-owned PlayStation IP, meaning some of the best PS5 games have a chance of turning into a show or blockbuster film.
While Sony has previously produced media based on its games, PlayStation Productions was specifically founded to work with Sony Pictures Entertainment, allowing creative input from the studios and developers behind the games to aid in adapting the source material to new mediums. This means, in theory, any first-party games on the PS5 could later be adapted into a movie or TV show.
Right now, PlayStation Productions has six confirmed projects with known titles, with more projects rumored to be at various stages of development. In a corporate strategy meeting in May 2021, Sony confirmed there were 10 projects currently ongoing that involve PlayStation IP being turned into movies and TV shows. That number has grown since then with additional reported projects.
PlayStation Productions projects in development
Days Gone
First revealed via a report from Deadline, Sony is reportedly working on a movie adaption of Days Gone, the 2019 open-world game developed by Bend Studio. The film will reportedly be directed by Sheldon Cooper, while Outlander star Sam Heughan is in talks to star as Deacon St. John.
Days Gone takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where massive hordes of infected known as "Freakers" roam the world. Set in Oregon, the story follows St. John (performed by Sam Witwer) as he struggles to move on after the death of his wife. A major selling point of the game is how the world was harsh and came for players, with infected wildlife and hordes of hundreds of Freakers all on screen at the same time.
God of War
According to Deadline, Sony is partnering with Amazon Prime Video to work on a God of War series adaptation. Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, creators of The Expanse series, and The Wheel of Time showrunner Rafe Judkins are said to be handling the development.
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God of War is a major franchise for PlayStation, with several games developed by Sony Santa Monica, as well as two smaller games handled by Ready at Dawn. The first few games followed Kratos, the titular God of War, as he battled gods and monsters of Greek mythology.
The 2018 entry on the PS4 saw a shift to Norse mythology and a much more serious tone. That game came to PC in 2022, crossing 19 million copies sold. The next big game in the series, God of War Ragnarok, is slated to launch on Nov. 9, 2022.
Gran Turismo
A Gran Turismo movie is in development and is set to be directed by Neill Blomkamp, known for his work on District 9. The movie will be based on the true story of a driver inspired by playing the series.
Gran Turismo is a long-running franchise of racing games developed by Polyphony Digital. The latest entry, Gran Turismo 7, was released on March 4, 2022.
Gravity Rush
Deadline broke the news that PlayStation Productions is working on a Gravity Rush movie. Anna Mastro (Secret Society of Second Born Royals) will be directing a script written by Emily Jerome (Panopticon).
Gravity Rush and its sequel, Gravity Rush 2, are games developed by the now mostly defunct Japan Studio. Players take on the role of Kat, a young woman who can reorient herself and manipulate gravity to solve puzzles and deal with threats.
Horizon Zero Dawn
It was previously confirmed that Netflix was working on a Horizon Zero Dawn series adaptation. Recently, it was revealed it'll be helmed by Steve Blackman, showrunner for The Umbrella Academy on Netflix. Not a lot is known about the show, but Blackman is keeping protagonist Aloy as a central character for the series.
"Suffice it to say, yes, Aloy will be a main character in our story," Blackman told Netflix blog Tudum following news The Umbrella Academy was renewed for a fourth season. "Guerrilla Games has created an incredibly lush and vivid world of man and machine who find themselves on a collision course to oblivion. Their salvation comes in the form of a young female warrior named Aloy, who has no idea she's the key to saving the world."
Horizon Zero Dawn was developed by Guerrilla Games and released for PS4 in 2017. It tells the story of the outcast Aloy, a young woman who has to fight to survive in a world a thousand years in the future, where humans have reverted to living in tribes with little knowledge of the past and massive machines dominate the ecosystem.
Receiving general praise and commercial success, it was later released on PC in 2020 and has sold over 20 million copies as of 2022. A sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, was released on Feb. 18, 2022. A PlayStation VR title called Horizon Call of the Mountain is also in development.
Ghost of Tsushima
Sony is confirmed to be working on a Ghost of Tsushima movie, though few other details are currently known.
Ghost of Tsushima is a third-person open-world adventure title developed by Sucker Punch Productions, the studio that handled the inFamous games. Ghost of Tsushima follows samurai Jin Sakai as he works to repel the Mongol invaders from the shores of his island home. Along the way, Jin starts using less and less-savory tactics, drawing ire not just from the Mongols but from his fellow samurai.
Ghost of Tsushima first launched for the PS4 in July 2020, with Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut launching in 2021. Ghost of Tsushima is the fastest-selling first-party new IP on the PS4, with over 9.73 million copies sold so far.
The Last of Us
The Last of Us TV show is one one of the big premiere projects at PlayStation Productions. The show is being written and developed by Craig Mazin, director of Chernobyl, and Neil Druckmann, co-president of Naughty Dog and creative director on both The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part 2. The show reportedly has a "jaw-drop" moment not in the games.
Gustavo Santaolalla, composer for the games, is returning to compose the score for the show. Pedro Pascal is playing Joel Baker, while Bella Ramsey is playing Ellie. Gabriel Luna plays Tommy, Anna Torv portrays Tess, and Merle Dandridge returns from the games to play Marlene. Jeffrey Pierce (who played Tommy in the games) is playing a new character. Nick Offerman is playing Bill, the paranoid survivalist. Storm Reid is portraying Riley Abel, a friend of Ellie who appeared in The Last of Us: Left Behind. The show is set to air on HBO at some point in 2023.
The Last of Us is one of Sony's most successful franchises. The stories follow a world turned upside down by a fungus infection that turns human beings into nightmarish monsters. Joel Baker, a smuggler who lost some of his family on Outbreak Day, is tasked with smuggling a teenage girl named Ellie to the Fireflies, a group of resistance fighters.
Developed by Naughty Dog, The Last of Us launched in 2013 for the PS3, with a remaster following for the PS4 a year later. The Last of Part 2 shipped in 2020 for the PS4. The Last of Us sold 20 million copies across PS3 and PS4, while The Last of Us Part 2 sold over 10 million copies.
Twisted Metal
Sony is working on a TV show that will reportedly coincide with a new Twisted Metal game, as confirmed at CES 2022. Anthony Mackie is confirmed to by playing John Doe, one of the main characters in the series.
Twisted Metal is an older Sony franchise that's passed around many different teams, with various games developed by SingleTrac, 989 Studios Incognito Entertainment and Eat Sleep Play. The plots vary from game to game, but the gameplay is always focused around vehicular combat, with cars decked out in weapons like machine guns, tire spikes or oil slicks to bring down the competition.
A reboot of the game franchise is also reportedly in development.
Completed PlayStation Productions projects
Uncharted
The long-in-development Uncharted movie is the first project out of PlayStation Productions. The film stars Tom Holland as hero Nathan Drake, Mark Wahlberg as mentor Victor "Sully" Sullivan, and Sophia Ali as Chloe Frazer. Meanwhile, Antonio Banderas is playing the film's villain. The movie is meant to be a prequel, telling the origin story of how Drake and Sully met on their first adventure hunting a vast treasure.
After numerous delays, the Uncharted movie hit theaters on Feb. 18, 2022. While reviews were generally mixed, the film was a box office success, making over $401 million against a $120 million budget. Sony Pictures Chairman Tom Rothman has referred to Uncharted as a new film franchise for Sony, so we can probably expect more entries.
The Uncharted games are third-person action-adventure stories, evoking pulp adventures like Indiana Jones. Hero Nathan Drake and his allies try to stop scheming villains while uncovering vast forgotten treasures. Uncharted has a long history at Sony, with several games developed by Naughty Dog, as well as a spinoff developed by Bend Studio, totaling over 41 million copies sold across every game and platform.
The latest game in the franchise was 2017's Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, which starred Chloe Frazer as the main protagonist. A remastered compilation of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy titled Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection came to PS5 on Jan 28, 2022, and is coming to PC at a later date.
Future developments
We'll be sure to keep you updated on any future projects from PlayStation Productions that are rumored through reliable reports or officially announced.
Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on PlayStation on Android Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert