Netflix has announced plans to launch an animated series based on Minecraft, the best-selling video game of all time, to celebrate its 15th anniversary. The announcement came during the game’s anniversary festivities.
A brief teaser trailer shows a green creeper character from the game scurrying onto a black screen before exploding in a pixelated grey cloud. The scene transitions to an underground cavern teeming with lava, culminating in a shot of a red Netflix “N” logo perched on a volcanic rock, followed by the words “Netflix x Minecraft.”
The accompanying caption states, “This just happened: The best-selling game of all time & the biggest streamer in the world are teaming up to bring you a brand new Minecraft Netflix animated series.” Netflix indicates the series will feature an original storyline with fresh characters, with more details to follow soon.
The video game adaptation industry in Hollywood is thriving, with numerous prominent franchises either in development or strongly rumored. Recent successes like the Mario Bros Movie, The Last of Us, and Fallout have reversed the trend of video game adaptations being met with critical and commercial disappointment.
Netflix has found success with animated adaptations of popular games, such as an anime based on Castlevania, Cyberpunk: Edge Runners, and the League of Legends spin-off Arcane. Additionally, a Minecraft movie starring Jack Black as the playable character Steve is set to premiere in theaters next April.
Microsoft, the company behind Xbox, acquired Minecraft in 2014 for $2.5 billion. With ownership of Bethesda, the studio behind the Fallout series, Microsoft has seen a spike in player engagement following Amazon’s release of a Fallout-inspired show. Minecraft, having sold 300 million copies, remains a key focus for Xbox, with film and TV initiatives aimed at maintaining player interest and involvement.
