Universal Pictures has obtained a first-look agreement to develop films based on ten classic Atari properties, the studio’s latest move to mine gaming nostalgia for big-screen franchises. The partnership, struck with Atari and production company Entertainment 360, will see Universal begin the slate with an original feature penned by Matt Reilly and Carl Hampe, who are also attached as producers.
An old brand, new ambitions
The deal positions Universal to explore well-known titles including Pong, Pac—no, not Pac-Man from this package—and a raft of early arcade and console games that helped define home entertainment in the 1970s and 1980s. Sources say the intention is to translate the simplicity and imaginative openness of the original games into large-scale action-adventure films rather than direct, literal adaptations.
"For more than five decades, Atari has created games and worlds that have remained part of popular culture long after their original release,"
The quotation came from Atari’s chairman and CEO, who confirmed the company’s enthusiasm for transferring its IP into cinematic form and emphasised the opportunity to introduce those worlds to new audiences.
First project and creative team
The initial feature commissioned under the arrangement grew out of an original spec by Reilly and Hampe. Both writers have moved into producing for the project, which will be shepherded at Entertainment 360 by Guymon Casady. Casady described the impulse behind the move as an effort to capture the spirit of the games — the way they dropped players into suggestive worlds and left much to the imagination — and to build a large-scale narrative around that sensibility.
- Partnership: Atari + Entertainment 360 with Universal Pictures holding first-look rights
- First film: Original screenplay by Matt Reilly and Carl Hampe; producers attached
- Objective: Transform classic game IP into big-budget action-adventure fare
Catalogue on offer
The ten properties named for potential development span arcade and home-console hits. The announcement highlighted the company’s hope that the films will honour the feel of the originals while expanding them into new, cinematic stories.
| Listed Atari Properties |
|---|
| Asteroids |
| Adventure |
| Berzerk |
| Breakout |
| Centipede |
| Crystal Castles |
| Millipede |
| Missile Command |
| Pong |
| Yars’ Revenge |
Industry representation on the deal was handled by IAG and Vanderkloot Law for Atari. Universal declined to comment on the record to Deadline at the time of the announcement.
Implications for studios and gaming IP
This agreement reflects an ongoing trend: studios are increasingly turning to established gaming brands as sources for tentpole films and potential franchises. For Universal, the Atari slate offers recognisable names with broad nostalgia appeal, while Atari gains a pathway to transform decades-old properties into contemporary cinematic entertainment. How faithfully the films will hew to the minimalist originals — or how far they will reinvent those ideas for mass audiences — remains to be seen.
The first project will be a bellwether both for this partnership and for wider interest in adapting retro gaming IP for modern multiplexes. With producers and writers attached who have roots in studio experience and franchise filmmaking, the expectation is that Universal intends to build commercially ambitious projects rather than small-scale adaptations.
