The race to adapt video games is in full swing within the audiovisual industry, and studios are snapping up the rights to the biggest franchises before it's too late. Hardly a week seems to go by without a Hollywood production company or streaming platform announcing a project of this kind.
Even more surprising, some games barely have time to make a name for themselves in their original market before the predators of cinema and streaming are snapping them up. Split Fiction and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 are the most recent examples. Another characteristic of this new adaptation war: there seem to be no selection criteria. If Michael Bay can adapt the internet phenomenon Skibidi Toilet for the big screen, studios will certainly no longer hesitate to dabble in strange titles.
Until brave producers try their hand at impossible adaptations (imagine if Hollywood were to adapt a game like Undertale?), Netflix is already testing the waters with a risky project. The platform is preparing an animated series based on the universe of Clash of Clans, thirteen years after the launch of Supercell's mobile game.
A project led by a franchise regular
To bring this late adaptation to fruition, Netflix has secured the services of director Fletcher Moules. The filmmaker has already lent a hand to the platform for the creation of the animated film Entergalactic, but it's another part of his CV that will reassure fans of Clash of Clans. Indeed, Moules is also behind the famous animated trailers for the mobile game. The series has just entered pre-production but already offers us a semblance of a synopsis, with one of the blond barbarians from the title as the main character: “The series will tell the story of a determined barbarian whose intellect is overwhelmed by events, who must rally a band of misfits to defend his village and navigate a war policy that is as absurd as it is comical.” Is it relevant to adapt Clash of Clans today? Supercell’s title is no longer young, and has demonstrated incredible longevity by mobile game market standards. The universe established by Supercell has since been expanded through a multitude of spin-offs (Clash Royale, Squad Busters, etc.). But Clash of Clans is unfortunately far from being in top form. According to statistics collected by the site activeplayer.io, it is struggling to exceed peak attendance of 10 million players, while more than 24 million players were still logging in simultaneously in 2021.
The drop in attendance is even more striking in terms of the monthly average number of players, with more than 117 million players in 2021 compared to only 40 million in recent months. After so many years, it's not surprising that users are moving on, but the title still manages to maintain remarkable statistics. Even if Clash of Clans were to lose all of its loyal players overnight, Netflix seems confident that the game's already cult status will be enough to attract the audience who once played it, whether their last game was over a decade ago or just a few days ago:
“Clash has been a global gaming phenomenon for over a decade. It's packed with humor, action, and unforgettable characters that lend themselves perfectly to an animated series. We're bringing the fun, chaos, and spirit of the Clash world to life in a whole new way. We can't wait for fans—old and new—to experience that chaos,” said John Derderian, Netflix's vice president of animated series. Would you be willing to subscribe to the platform to discover an adaptation of this game?
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