Topline
Netflix struck a deal with gaming publisher Asmodee to develop “Catan,” the hugely popular board game, into film and television projects, the companies announced Tuesday, as film studios increasingly bet on attracting audiences with game adaptations—especially video games.
Netflix will develop an undisclosed number of film and television projects based on “Catan.” (Photo by Britta Pedersen/picture alliance via Getty Images)
dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images
Key Facts
Under the “Catan” deal, Netflix will develop an undisclosed number of projects across film and television, both live-action and animated, according to a news release.
Little is known about the upcoming projects, but they will be jointly produced by Darren Kyman from Asmodee, Pete Fenlon from Catan Studio, and Guido Teuber and Benjamin Teuber, sons of Klaus Teuber, the late creator of “Catan” who released the first edition of the game in 1995.
The deal is the latest partnership between Netflix and Asmodee: In 2024, Netflix released a French-language film, “Family Pack,” based on Asmodee’s “The Werewolves of Millers Hollow” card game, and the companies teamed up in 2022 to release board games based on popular Netflix shows “Ozark,” “Squid Game” and “Stranger Things.”
In the “Catan” board game, players aim to grow their settlements on the fictional island of Catan, using limited resources and negotiating with other players to build roads, settlements and cities.
Big Number
45 million. That’s how many “Catan” board games have been sold since its initial release in 1995, Asmodee says. The game has been translated into more than 40 languages.
How Successful Are Video Game Film Adaptations?
Video game adaptations have generally been a safe financial bet for film and television studios in recent years. The highest-grossing movie of 2025 at the domestic box office is “A Minecraft Movie,” which grossed more than $423 million stateside and nearly $1 billion globally. The second-biggest movie of 2023 was “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which grossed more than $1.3 billion worldwide. Though the video game adaptation genre has seen some recent flops—like “Borderlands,” which bombed at the box office and with critics last year—many recent adaptations have been highly successful, including “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” and “Five Nights at Freddy’s.” Video games have also successfully translated to television adaptations, with HBO’s “The Last of Us” and Prime Video’s “Fallout” both receiving critical acclaim and winning multiple Emmy Awards.
Contra
Though video game adaptations have been big box office hits in recent years, these movies are often panned by critics. “A Minecraft Movie” earned just a 47% Rotten Tomatoes score, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” has a 59% score, “Five Nights at Freddy’s” has a 33% rating and “Borderlands” has a dismal 10%. Cara Ellison, a video game narrative designer, previously told The Guardian video games are difficult to adapt into good movies because games often include 15 hours or more of gameplay, which is hard to condense into a two-hour script.
Tangent
Paramount, soon after its merger with David Ellison’s Skydance, struck a deal with “Call of Duty” to create a film based on the blockbuster video game franchise. Ellison called last month’s deal a “dream come true,” and Variety reported the deal may extend to additional films or television projects. “Call of Duty” has sold more than 500 million copies across dozens of games released since 2003, the Washington Post reported last year.
Further Reading
‘Call Of Duty’ Movie Coming From Paramount, Activision—Why That Could Be Risky For Studios (Forbes)