Sony Pictures and Story Kitchen are teaming up to bring the acclaimed indie video game The Drifter to the big screen as a live-action feature film.
Story Kitchen’s Dmitri M. Johnson and Michael Lawrence Goldberg are set to produce, with Timothy I. Stevenson and Elena Sandoval serving as executive producers.
Developed and published by Australian independent studio Powerhoof, The Drifter is a pulpy sci-fi adventure that follows a nomadic drifter who witnesses a brutal murder before being drowned by high-tech soldiers. When he mysteriously awakens, he finds himself fighting for survival while uncovering a sinister conspiracy involving shadowy corporations and a dangerous madman.
The project is already generating significant interest in Hollywood. Sources say prominent writers and directors have begun reaching out to pitch their takes on the adaptation. The level of attention is notable given that The Drifter was created independently rather than originating from one of the major game publishers that typically dominate the video game adaptation space.
Interest in game-to-film adaptations continues to surge across Hollywood, with Sony itself expanding its presence in the space. The studio is also set to release its latest Resident Evil adaptation this month.
The Drifter comes to the screen with considerable acclaim behind it. At the 2025 Australian Game Developer Awards, the game won Game of the Year, as well as awards for Excellence in Visual Art, Excellence in Narrative and Excellence in Sound Design.
Story Kitchen has quickly established itself as a major player in video game adaptations. Its upcoming slate includes Tomb Raider projects for Prime Video and Netflix, Life is Strange at Prime Video, a Just Cause feature film at Universal and an adaptation of Sega’s classic 1990s beat-’em-up Streets of Rage at Lionsgate, among other projects.
Powerhoof is a two-person independent game studio founded by Dave Lloyd and Barney Cumming. The Melbourne-based developers first made their mark with Crawl, a dungeon-crawler in which players can control the monsters attacking their friends. They later released Regular Human Basketball, a multiplayer party game, before developing The Drifter.
- Email: neill@outloudculture.com
- Socials: @frazer.live
- @neill.outloud
