ARC Raiders and The Finals Head to Hollywood: Nexon and Chernin Are Developing Adaptations

Hollywood keeps mining video games for stories, and now it's Embark Studios' turn. As reported by IGN España based on a story from Variety, ARC Raiders and The Finals are getting film and television adaptations. The deal is being driven by Nexon, the Swedish studio's parent company, which will partner with production company Chernin to develop both projects.

Why does this matter to those of us who live and breathe competitive gaming? Because these aren't franchises with decades of history or sprawling single-player narratives. They're two multiplayer shooters born in the live-service era, with identities built on matches, clips and community. The fact that the entertainment industry sees them as material for the big screen says a lot about how the value of a video game brand has changed.

What you need to know

• ARC Raiders and The Finals, both from Embark Studios, are making the jump to film and television.
• Nexon, Embark's parent company, is the one closing the deal.
• The chosen partner is production company Chernin.
• The news was first reported by Variety and picked up by IGN España.
• No cast, specific formats, platforms or release dates have been announced yet.

Two very different games, one shared goal

What makes the announcement interesting is that it brings together two games with very different souls. ARC Raiders lives in extraction territory: a hostile world ruled by machines, constant tension and the choice between cooperating with or betraying other players. That tone of survival and paranoia fits quite naturally with a sci-fi series or film.

The Finals is something else entirely. Its premise is a TV game show taken to the extreme, with teams competing in arenas that get destroyed in real time in front of a fictional audience. Paradoxically, it's a game that already has a built-in spectacle aesthetic, almost like reality TV, and that could work for or against it: it either becomes a sharp satire of the entertainment industry or ends up as a soulless parade of explosions.

What the available information doesn't clarify is what format each project will take. There's talk of film and television, but nothing about which game is headed to which screen, whether they'll be animated or live-action, or who will write or direct. We'll have to wait and see.

The context: adaptation fever

IGN España's own headline sums it up with a touch of irony: as if there weren't enough already. Video game adaptations have gone from risky bets to a regular line of business for studios and production companies. What's new here is that the spotlight is shifting toward competitive, relatively young games whose strength lies less in their scripts and more in the shared experience of their communities.

Our take

Here at Underworld Lordz, we're looking at this with a mix of excitement and skepticism. The upside is obvious: more visibility for two games with active scenes means more new players, bigger audiences for tournaments and more interest in creator content. If a The Finals series turns out well, it could draw in people who had never watched a competitive shooter, and that eventually shows up in the lobbies, on the broadcasts and on the channels.

That said, let's be critical. An adaptation doesn't fix a game. If matchmaking breaks down, if weapon balance doesn't land or if content dries up, no movie is going to cover that up. We're concerned that the studio's focus could end up split between Hollywood and development, leaving the competitive community on the back burner while the trailers get all the attention. There's also a creative risk: turning worlds designed for players to write their own stories into closed narratives could blur exactly what makes them special.

For content creators, however, it's a clear opportunity. Announcements, trailers and premieres generate spikes in searches and conversation; anyone who has already carved out a niche in these games will be in the right place when the wave hits. Our advice: don't wait for the movie to stake your claim.

What do you think?

For us, it's clear that the game should come first and the screen second, but we want to hear from you. Do you think ARC Raiders and The Finals have what it takes to succeed in film or television, or is this a distraction Embark doesn't need? Drop by the team chat or our Discord and let us know: which of the two adaptations would you watch first?