Today, the video games industry is a major player in its own right. It generated global revenue in excess of $152 billion in 2019. On its way to achieving this level of success, it has borrowed from other areas of the entertainment sector, namely films and TV shows.

There are four main areas where you can clearly see how TV and film have had an influence on video games. Let’s examine them in more detail.

Themes and franchises

Perhaps the most obvious influence that films and shows have had on games is by the adoption of certain themes and franchises. For instance casino game specialists Comeon Gaming provide games that are based on major film franchises including Planet of the Apes and Highlander.

In other areas of the gaming market, this influence is just as common. For instance, Star Wars is a famous film franchise that has been adapted for the gaming industry.

Visual effects

As you would expect in an industry which relies so heavily on visual quality, it’s not surprising that gaming has stolen some valuable visual effects from the film industry.

One of the best known of these effects is bullet time. It was first seen on screen in The Matrix and was used to separate the time and space of the viewer from an object visible on screen. Since this original use of the effect on film, it’s also been used in games including Max Payne and Fallout 3.

Star voices

Some of the biggest names in the film world have gone on to voice characters in video games. This includes several of the coolest actors around including:

Gary Oldman who has voiced characters in Call of Duty World at War and Black Ops.
Christopher Walken who made a voice appearance in True Crime: Streets of LA.
Liam Neeson who has not worked on many video games but was attracted to Fallout 3.

Episodic development

Some video game developers have followed the path that has proven to be so successful in the world of TV and film where episodic storytelling has always been hugely popular. An audience loves to see stories and characters develop over several different episodes or films in a series.

Gaming enthusiasts have taken many these episodic games to heart. For instance, titles like Life is Strange and Hitman have been huge over the years.

It’s clear that films and TV shows are both highly influential in the world of game development. Many famous stories have been taken from the big screen and translated into exciting video game action. Game developers have also taken many of the technical developments from films and adapted them to the content of their creations. In addition, many of the most famous actors that we know from the big and small screen have given voice to characters in video games. Ironically, the fact that TV and film content has been used to develop the gaming industry may lead to gaming overtaking TV and films as it takes a grasp on the entertainment industry overall.