Lionsgate really wants to make a big-budget John Wick videogame: 'There's a ton of energy around it'

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The production studio is very interested in turning the hit action films into a triple-A game.

John Wick Chapter 2 still - John Wick reloading
(Image credit: Lionsgate)

In November 2022, Lionsgate said it was interested in turning the Keanu Reeves action film series John Wick into "a big AAA game." That's still very much the case: The company said in its most recent earnings call that there's no specific action on that front at this point, but it's eager to make it happen.

"We are continuing to have those conversations. There's a ton of energy around it," Lionsgate's motion picture group chairman Joe Drake said (via Seeking Alpha). The continued growth of John Wick's popularity "is very rare in any franchise, much less an action franchise," Drake added, and that "creates a lot of energy and excitement in the company.

"It does the same with filmmakers, and we're now moving across that franchise, not just in the AAA videogame space, but looking at what the regular cadence of spin-offs, television, [and] really growing that universe so that there is a steady cadence of a franchise that there's clear appetite by the audience."

While the John Wick videogame situation apparently hasn't changed between last November and now, the John Wick situation overall actually has, and significantly for the better. The November statement, when Lionsgate said it was "interested" and "fielding proposals," came before the release of John Wick 4, when executives may have been feeling concerns about potential franchise fatigue. But the fourth film was a hit—the highest grossing film in the John Wick series and one of the biggest of 2023 so far—and so it's fair to say that any worries about people getting tired of watching Keanu Reeves commit creative mass murder are, at least for now, put to rest.

Andy Chalk
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.