First Firewatch was an interactive narrative, now it’s heading for the big screen. The Hollywood Reporter revealed today that Campo Santo has officially partnered with film production company Good Universe to bring the Wyoming-set interactive drama to the big screen. It also notes that Firewatch has now sold 1 million copies to date.
It’s an interesting deal (and a good one for the small studio) that stands out because Hollywood generally doesn’t look toward the games industry’s smaller, more personal titles when it’s looking for film adaptations. Firewatch mostly follows the lonely, tense wanderings of a volunteer fire lookout, and certainly doesn’t display what most companies tend to look for in big-screen game adaptations.
Nevertheless, Campos Santo co-founder Sean Vanaman says it’s exactly what the production company behind Neighbors, the American adaptation of Oldboy, and The Night Before was looking for. “It’s rare you meet another group that shares so many of your values and makes the process of creating things even more exciting,” Vanaman tells The Hollywood Reporter.
What’s also notable about Campo Santo and Good Universe’s deal is that it doesn’t just seem to be a one-way adaptation deal. The Hollywood Reporter states that the two companies have partnered to “develop content for both video games and feature films.”
It would then appear to be that Good Universe is interested in developing story ideas with Campo Santo that could exist as both game and movie projects.