Add 2022’s Stray to the list of video games that are getting movie adaptations.
As revealed by Entertainment Weekly, the adventure game from BlueTwelve Studio and Annapurna has been selected for the animated film treatment. Ice Age director Chris Wedge will direct, and this marks the first game in the Annapurna library to transition to another medium.
Andrew Millstein, co-leader of Annapurna Animation, said Stray was ripe for adaptation because it’s been “wildly popular” since its initial release last year. Co-leader Robert Baird echoed that sentiment, calling it “a game that’s all about what makes us human, and there are no humans in it.”
“It’s one of the reasons why the game was incredibly popular, that you are seeing the world through the point of view of an adorable cat,” Baird continued.
Stray puts players in the paws of an unnamed cat journeying through a city populated by robots with the help of an AI drone named B-12. Upon release, the game received strong acclaim and was nominated for a number of awards during the end of 2022.
Annapurna hops onboard the adaptation express
Annapurna Interactive is a subsidiary of the film company, which recently begun dipping into animation with the Netflix film Nimona earlier this summer.
Entertainment Weekly’s interview briefly touches on the studio’s slate of games, which includes past and future titles such as 12 Minutes, The Pathless, and Thirsty Suitors. It’s implied that Baird and Millstein are looking at each of those titles as possible candidates for film or TV.
As shown by the previously announced films for Gravity Rush and Days Gone, any game has the potential for adaptation in the near future. A movie for PlayStation’s Gran Turismo series came out at the end of August, and later this month, Netflix will release Castlevania: Nocturne, once again based on the popular series.