Why Games Are Becoming the New Film Franchises

A decade ago, movies were where big film franchises lived. Think Marvel, Star Wars, Harry Potter. Today, that centre of gravity has shifted. Games are no longer borrowing credibility from film. Films are chasing games.

This isn’t just about flashy adaptations or nostalgia plays. It’s about how people experience stories now, and why games are built for long-term fandom in a way movies struggle to match.

Games Don’t End After Two Hours

A movie asks for your attention once. Maybe twice if it’s good. A game takes weeks, sometimes months. You don’t just watch the story unfold. You live inside it.

Take The Last of Us. Before it became an HBO hit, it already had a deeply invested fanbase because players had spent 15 to 20 hours making choices, surviving loss, and bonding with the characters. That emotional investment is hard to replicate in a single film, which is why the adaptation worked so well. The foundation was already strong.

Games create attachment through time. The longer you spend in a world, the more real it feels.

Players Are Participants, Not Spectators

Films are passive by design. Games aren’t.

When you play Red Dead Redemption 2, you’re not just watching Arthur Morgan’s moral struggle. You’re shaping it. You decide how he treats others, how he spends his final days, and what kind of legacy he leaves behind. That sense of agency builds a personal connection that turns fans into loyal advocates

This is why gaming fandom feels different. People don’t just debate plot points. They debate choices. “What did you do?” becomes part of the conversation.

Games Are Built to Expand, Not Conclude

Most films are structured around endings. Even franchises eventually need closure. Games, on the other hand, are designed to evolve.

Look at Fortnite. It’s not a single story. It’s a constantly changing universe with live events, crossovers, and seasonal narratives that keep players coming back.

This live, expandable model turns games into ongoing cultural spaces rather than finished products. Films release. Games persist.

Gaming IP Travels Well Across Media

Once a game builds a strong world, it becomes flexible. It can move into TV, film, books, and merchandise without losing its core identity.

The Witcher started as novels, became a game franchise with massive global reach, and then evolved into a Netflix series that brought in millions of new fans.
The key difference is that the game didn’t need the show to validate it. The show needed the game’s audience.

That reversal matters.

Community Keeps Franchises Alive

Film fandom often peaks around release dates. Gaming communities never really go offline.
Mods, fan art, Twitch streams, Discord servers, and esports scenes keep stories active long after launch. Games like Minecraft or League of Legends thrive because players help shape the culture around them.

When fans feel like co-creators, not just consumers, franchises last longer.

What This Shift Really Says About Entertainment

At its core, this trend isn’t about games replacing movies or film franchises. It’s about how audiences want to engage.

People want worlds they can return to. Stories they can influence. Characters they don’t just watch but walk alongside.

Films will always matter, and film franchises will always have cultural weight. But games are becoming the emotional and cultural anchors of modern franchises. They don’t just tell stories. They invite us to step inside them.

And once you’ve lived in a world, it’s hard to let it go.

Also read: The Popularity of Superhero Movies and TV Shows: A Cultural Phenomenon

Author - Ishani Mohanty

She is a certified research scholar with a Master's Degree in English Literature and Foreign Languages, specialized in American Literature; well trained with strong research skills, having a perfect grip on writing Anaphoras on social media. She is a strong, self dependent, and highly ambitious individual. She is eager to apply her skills and creativity for an engaging content.