Sony Pictures and Story Kitchen Developing ‘The Drifter’ Video Game Movie
- Horror Movies Uncut
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Sony Pictures and Story Kitchen are teaming up to bring another video game property to the big screen, this time turning their attention to Australian indie game The Drifter.
According to Deadline, Sony Pictures and Story Kitchen have acquired the live-action feature film rights to the pulpy adventure game from independent developer Powerhoof. Story Kitchen’s Dmitri M. Johnson and Michael Lawrence Goldberg will produce, with Timothy I. Stevenson and Elena Sandoval serving as executive producers.
No writer, director or cast has been announced, but the project is already reportedly generating interest among filmmakers. Sources told Deadline that writers and directors began reaching out with pitches following word that Sony and Story Kitchen had secured the rights.
Developed and published by Australian independent studio Powerhoof, The Drifter follows a nomadic drifter who witnesses a brutal murder before being targeted and drowned by high-tech soldiers. He unexpectedly awakens and finds himself caught in a fight for survival that pulls him deeper into a conspiracy involving powerful corporations and a madman’s obsession.
The game’s combination of crime, conspiracy, science fiction and pulpy thriller elements gives Sony and Story Kitchen considerable material to translate into a live-action feature.
The deal is particularly notable given The Drifter’s independent origins. Rather than adapting an established property from one of the industry’s largest publishers, Sony is moving forward with a title created by a two-person development studio.
Powerhoof was founded by Dave Lloyd and Barney Cumming. The Australian studio previously developed Crawl, a dungeon crawler that allows other players to control the monsters confronting the central player, and the multiplayer game Regular Human Basketball before releasing The Drifter.
The game also arrived at the adaptation table with significant recognition from Australia’s development community. The Drifter was named Game of the Year at the 2025 Australian Game Developer Awards while also taking honors for Excellence in Visual Art, Excellence in Narrative and Excellence in Sound Design.
For Story Kitchen, the project becomes the latest addition to an expanding slate of video game adaptations.
The company is involved with Tomb Raider projects for Prime Video and Netflix, a Life is Strange adaptation at Prime Video, Universal’s planned Just Cause movie and a feature based on Sega’s Streets of Rage at Lionsgate.
Sony has also continued investing in game-to-screen adaptations, with the studio’s latest Resident Evil movie arriving this month. The early attention surrounding The Drifter suggests that studios’ appetite for gaming properties is increasingly extending beyond major franchises and recognizable AAA titles.
The challenge now will be translating the game’s pulpy atmosphere, conspiracy-driven narrative and distinctive independent identity without losing what allowed it to attract attention in the first place.
Sony Pictures and Story Kitchen have not announced a production timeline or release date for The Drifter.
The Drifter sounds like it has a fascinating world and story. Much like stickman hook, a lot will depend on how well the movie captures the atmosphere that made the original game memorable.
Excited to see Sony and Story Kitchen giving an indie gem like “The Drifter” a shot at the big screen — hope they keep that raw atmospheric edge that made the game so memorable!