Video games 'Creed,' 'Splinter Cell,' 'Ghost Recon' headed to film

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Paris-based Ubisoft Digital Arts' recent announcement that it was launching a film and television division has been followed by the news on May 15 that it will develop its top three video games - Assassin's Creed, Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon - as 3D films.

Ubisoft has produced games from film and television programs such as Beowulf, King Kong, Lost, and Avatar, and Ubisoft Motion Pictures will expand beyond games to release its own properties for film and TV.

As reported in Variety, the French video game publisher saw success with its title Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which made $335 million worldwide in its screen adaptation by Columbia Pictures.

Film studios that have previously attempted to adapt video games for film have had limited success, with a few exceptions, such as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Resident Evil.

The three franchises to become films include an epic action-adventure series, Assassin's Creed, which sold 28 million and focuses on two secret organizations that influenced major historical events.

The Splinter Cell series, which sold 22 million, is an action drama about an elite secret agent fighting world terrorism, based on the novel by Tom Clancy.

Ghost Recon games, based on a tech-driven war action story set in the near future, sold 17 million units worldwide.

The Ubisoft projects have apparently drawn interest from US studios and screenwriters. The company is also in collaborations with broadcasters and is developing Raving Rabbids, a gag-laden, CGI 3D toon series based on the hit video game and comprising 78 episodes of seven minutes.

RC