Split Fiction, the incredible co-op action-adventure game that released last month, is set to get a movie adaptation, with Sydney Sweeney attached as an actress and executive producer.
The director of the musical movie Wicked, Jon M. Chu, is also on board, as are Deadpool & Wolverine screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, according to a Variety article.
What We Know About the Split Fiction Movie
Split Fiction, a video game developed by Hazelight, released in March 2025 to great critical and commercial success. It released on PC, PS5, and Xbox X/S, and is an upcoming Switch 2 release title. A few weeks after its release, Variety reported that a movie adaptation was in the works, led by entertainment company Story Kitchen.
Now we know more, including Sweeney’s involvement, who is known for movies like Anyone But You and shows like Euphoria. According to Variety’s sources, it’s not decided which of Split Fiction‘s two lead characters the star will play.
Sweeney is on a bit of a video game streak recently—a report came via Deadline only days ago that she would produce a movie adaptation of Sega’s classic arcade racer OutRun.
Story Kitchen specializes in video game adaptations, and has projects in the works based on franchises like Tomb Raider, ToeJam & Earl, and Just Cause. The same team is behind the previously announced It Takes Two movie, a game also developed by Hazelight, though news on that has been slim.
Speaking to Eurogamer in February, Hazelight founder Josef Fares said of the It Takes Two adaptation that his “hopes are not so high” and that “there’s a lot of talk, but not a lot of walk.” Hopefully the Split Fiction movie doesn’t succumb to the same fate.
Will Split Fiction Work as a Movie?
Split Fiction is one of my favorite games of the year so far. Games designed specifically for co-operative play are few and far between, so it’s a treat when one as glorious as Split Fiction comes along. It’s a thrilling ride, constantly chucking out new ideas and bubbling with imagination. It’s sheer joy, especially if you play it with someone in the same room.
My only criticism is that the game’s story—that of two authors, one who likes fantasy and the other sci-fi, who are sucked into each other’s virtual worlds—is a serviceable backdrop to let the gameplay shine. The fun of the game comes from all the different levels and abilities, and messing around with your partner. I’m curious to see how well that translates to the big screen.
Video Game Adaptations Have a Mixed Reputation
It’s fair to say that video game adaptations aren’t always great. Look at 2024’s Borderlands or 2016’s Assassin’s Creed, for example. But that doesn’t necessarily stop these movies smashing the box office, as the recent A Minecraft Movie demonstrates; it’s currently the second highest-grossing video game adaptation, behind The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
There are plenty of decent video game movies, though, like Sonic the Hedgehog and Detective Pikachu. Television is perhaps where the real magic happens, like with Amazon’s Fallout and HBO’s The Last of Us, two shows which stand alone as superb entertainment regardless of their roots.
Related
I’ll keep an open mind about the Split Fiction movie, assuming it ever materializes. There is plenty of potential for this to be a fun fantasy/sci-fi crossover, with a team who know how to bring audiences to the theater.
