Here are five of the best film and book franchises that have been turned into the best video games, from Star Wars and Jurassic Park to Halo and beyond.
Number-one-selling books and blockbuster film franchises have long been a source of inspiration for video game development studios and publishers.
In fact, some of the video game industry’s most successful titles are ones based on famous books and films, from Star Wars and Jurassic Park to Halo, The Witcher, and beyond.
While there have been a few duds, such as the 1982 Atari failure E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the majority of book and film video game adaptations have become some of the most popular titles to play on a range of gaming devices, including Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation consoles, smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktop computers, and dedicated handheld gaming devices, such as the Nintendo Switch and Valve Steam Deck.
Let’s dive straight in to discover the names of five of the most successful film and book franchises that have been turned into fantastic games.
What types of games are based on books and movies, and why are they so popular?
Over the past thirty or so years, countless video games that were directly inspired by some of the world’s best-selling books and films have been released. In more recent years, software providers and game development studios from the iGaming industry have also crafted hundreds of feature-rich online slot machines based on similar themes.
The chances are, if someone enjoyed the book or film and they enjoy playing regular video games or games found on iGaming sites, they will also enjoy the adaptation of that book/film. Some people like playing these games to get a feeling of nostalgia, whereas others simply enjoy revisiting their favourite characters, locations, chapters or scenes.
If you want to play book and movie-themed online slot machines with high or above-average Return to Player (RTP%) payout rates from industry-award-winning providers, visit the official casinos.com iGaming review site.
Casinos.com is home to casinos with $10 deposits, and each site has hundreds of hit titles, which you must be at least 18 years old to play. Some of the most famous slots based on books and/or films include the following:
- Series/franchise: Jurassic Park. Titles: Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park Gold – Link & Win, Jurassic Park – Raptor Riches. Software providers/game development studios: Games Global, Microgaming, Stormcraft Studios, Fortune Factory Studios
- Series/franchise: The Goonies. Titles: The Goonies, The Goonies Return, The Goonies Megaways, The Goonies Jackpot King, The Goonies Hey You Guys, The Goonies Return Jackpot King. Software providers/game development studios: Blueprint Gaming
- Series/franchise: Jumanji. Titles: Jumanji. Software providers/game development studios: NetEnt
- Series/franchise: Gladiator. Titles: Gladiator, Gladiator Jackpot, Gladiator: Road to Rome, Gladiator: Mega Cash Collect. Software providers/game development studios: Playtech, Origins
- Series/franchise: Lara Croft. Titles: Lara Croft: Temples and Tombs, Lara Croft: Tomb of the Sun. Software providers/game development studios: Games Global and Triple Edge Studios
Some of the other most famous online slots based on films or books include The Naked Gun, Game of Thrones, Halloween, The Invisible Man, Stargate Megaways, The Lost Boys, Planet of the Apes, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Ghostbusters, Terminator 2, Ted, Beetlejuice Megaways, Gremlins, and The Phantom of the Opera, to name a few.
What about video games?
When it comes to video games that are typically played on consoles, PCs and mobile devices, the top 5 most successful film and book franchises that have translated well to video games are the following:
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six
- Cyberpunk 2077
- The Witcher series
- Halo
- Metro Series
That’s not forgetting the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, Conan Exiles, Call of Cthulhu, the Parasite Eve series, and Dante’s Inferno. Most of these graphically demanding, triple-A, high-end video games were made over the past decade and have generated billions of dollars in sales.
This epic selection includes a range of open-world, first-person shooter games, RPGs (role-playing games), action and adventure games and various other popular genres, such as horror, war & military, zombie apocalypse, and survival.
Honourable mentions
According to Metacritic, some of the other major book and film franchises that have also translated well to the video game industry are the iconic GoldenEye 007 James Bond-theme video game from 1997 for the N64 (Nintendo 64), and Star Wars: Nights of the Old Republic from 2003, which was made for multiple devices/consoles, such as Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Windows PC, macOS, and Android platform.
Others include The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, Aliens Versus Predator 2, The Warriors, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Toy Story: Smash It, Spider-Man 2, and King Kong, to name just a few.
Final thoughts
As you can see from the sheer volume of hit title video games that have been based on some of recent history’s most successful films or books, which offer an almost unlimited source of inspiration, these games have always been popular and will continue to remain popular as more titles are expected to be released over the coming years.
Many successful film and book franchises haven’t yet been adapted into video games or online slot machines, meaning there’s still so much to look forward to.
Some of the biggest franchises that are crying out for a blockbuster game to be made are Back to the Future, Pirates of the Caribbean, Avatar, Fast and Furious, Indiana Jones, and many others. We just need the right kind of studios to bring these franchises to the gaming world and give them the justice they deserve.
The Lit Bitch 
