Atari has signed a major film development agreement with Universal Pictures and Entertainment 360, granting the studio rights to develop feature films based on 10 classic Atari game properties. The deal marks one of the largest video game adaptation initiatives involving retro gaming franchises in recent years.
The partnership includes several of Atari’s most iconic titles, including Asteroids, Adventure, Berzerk, Breakout, Centipede, Crystal Castles, Millipede, Missile Command, Pong, and Yars’ Revenge. Universal will have the opportunity to develop films based on these properties, with the projects expected to be positioned as large-scale action-adventure productions.
Development has already begun on the first project under the agreement. Screenwriters Matt Reilly and Carl Hampe have been hired to write an original screenplay, although the specific Atari property being adapted has not yet been revealed. Both writers bring experience from major Hollywood productions, with Hampe previously credited on films such as Jungle Cruise and Hellboy.
Entertainment 360’s Guymon Casady will produce the initial project. According to Casady, the creative team sees Atari’s classic games as fertile ground for cinematic storytelling due to the imaginative freedom offered by their minimalist narratives and worlds.
