Atari's back catalog is heading to the big screen in a big way. The company signed a deal with Universal Pictures, alongside production partner Entertainment 360, to develop movies based on 10 of its classic arcade titles. Here's the full list of games involved, who's writing the first script, and when the first film is realistically expected to hit theaters.
Ten Games, One Deal
CEO Wade Rosen confirmed the agreement on July 24, covering a slate of Atari's most recognizable arcade properties. The deal goes well beyond a single licensing agreement for one game, giving Universal a broad runway to develop multiple titles into feature films over time.
Games Included in the Deal
- Asteroids
- Adventure
- Berzerk
- Breakout
- Centipede
- Crystal Castles
- Millipede
- Missile Command
- Pong
- Yars' Revenge
Universal had previously held rights to an Asteroids adaptation dating back to 2019 that never got made, so this new agreement appears to fold that older deal into a much larger, more comprehensive arrangement.
What's Happening First
Universal has already picked up the first project out of the new partnership: an original feature based on Atari IP, written by Matt Reilly and Carl Hampe, and produced by Entertainment 360's Guymon Casady. Reports indicate the studio is aiming for a big-scale action-adventure approach rather than a straight retelling of any single game's premise, which makes sense given how little narrative some of these arcade classics actually have to work with.
A theatrical release for the first film is tentatively being targeted for 2028, though as with any early-stage development deal, that timeline could easily shift.
Adapting arcade games with essentially no plot into feature films is a tall order, and Hollywood's track record with video game movies built from thin source material has been mixed at best. Still, a decade-spanning deal covering ten titles gives Universal plenty of room to figure out which of these actually work as movies before committing further. The first script is in the works now, with a theatrical target still years out. Which of these ten games do you think has the best shot at becoming a good movie? Come talk about it in the NerdBlocks forum.
