By Zaheer Kachwala
(Reuters) -Paramount Skydance will make a live-action film based on Activision Blizzard's hit video game franchise "Call of Duty" as part of a deal with the Microsoft-owned company, the media firm said on Tuesday.
Under the agreement, Paramount will develop, produce, and distribute the film based on the popular intellectual property while both companies said they remain committed to honoring the brand's "rich narrative and distinctive style" for fans.
Paramount and Activision hope
the "Call of Duty" project can build on the success of recent videogame movie adaptations such as "A Minecraft Movie" as they seek to convert the franchise's dedicated player base into moviegoers.
"We're approaching this film with the same disciplined, uncompromising commitment to excellence that guided our work on Top Gun: Maverick," Paramount CEO David Ellison said.
Ellison, who oversaw Skydance's run of Hollywood action blockbusters and TV series, has committed to increasing Paramount's investment in "high-quality storytelling and cutting-edge technology" to drive the company's growth.
Published by Activision, "Call of Duty" is one of the most popular video game properties in the world. The first-person shooter title has sold 500 million copies globally and is one of the best-selling games in the U.S. every year, Paramount said.
The franchise was a central point of contention in Microsoft's $69 billion buyout of Activision as regulators believed the cloud firm's ownership of the IP would stifle competition.
After the success of HBO's "The Last of Us" series in 2023, videogame firms and Hollywood studios rushed to sign deals to adapt popular games, resulting in a "Fallout" series on Amazon and an upcoming sequel to "Mortal Kombat".
Electronic Arts is also working with Amazon to make a film on "The Sims".
"Hollywood has spent the past decade circling gaming IP because it delivers what studios desperately need: built-in audiences and global cultural cachet," said Joost van Dreunen, games professor at NYU Stern School of Business.
(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala and Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas and Leroy Leo)
