Vampyr is getting a TV adaptation

DontNod’s gritty action-RPG Vampyr is getting a TV spinoff, it has been announced.

The game’s developer, Dontnod Entertainment, granted the TV series rights to Fox 21, a subsidiary of 20th Century Fox. The actual adaptation will be handled by DJ2 Entertainment, who is already working with Dontnod on a TV adaptation of Life is Strange.

“We believe it is a fantastic premise for a television show,” said Dontnod CEO Oskar Guilbert. “This is a new and exciting way for fans of the game, as well as the uninitiated, to enter and engage with Vampyr's rich, deep story. We cannot wait to see how the talented team at Fox21 will bring out the darkly atmospheric universe of our game into television.”

Released in June this year, Vampyr was a commercial success, selling 450,000 copies in a month. PC Gamer’s Andy Kelly rather liked the game in his review, although he found the central character, Jonathan Reid, to be a bit of a dullard. Let's hope the TV show fixes that.

The current TV gold-rush has seen a several titles receiving a TV makeover. Netflix is currently working on a Witcher TV show, while Halo is getting its own TV series courtesy of Showtime.

Vampyr may seem a slightly less obvious choice for a TV adaptation, but Dontnod seems to have form in this area. As well as Vamypr and Life is Strange, there’s talk of a movie version of Dontnod's adventure game Twin Mirror, in conjunction with Namco Bandai. And that game isn't even out yet.

Sadly, there’s no news on a Rogue Warrior TV show, which frankly seems like a huge missed opportunity.

Rick has been fascinated by PC gaming since he was seven years old, when he used to sneak into his dad's home office for covert sessions of Doom. He grew up on a diet of similarly unsuitable games, with favourites including Quake, Thief, Half-Life and Deus Ex. Between 2013 and 2022, Rick was games editor of Custom PC magazine and associated website bit-tech.net. But he's always kept one foot in freelance games journalism, writing for publications like Edge, Eurogamer, the Guardian and, naturally, PC Gamer. While he'll play anything that can be controlled with a keyboard and mouse, he has a particular passion for first-person shooters and immersive sims.