Television has proven itself to be an excellent medium for video game adaptations, given their tendency toward sprawling stories that need more room to breathe than a two or even three-hour film will allow. With the mega success of shows like The Witcher, The Last of Us, and Fallout, Hollywood is hungry for more series to fill their programming lineups. There are numerous game-to-TV adaptations currently in the works, including God of War, Mass Effect, and Devil May Cry, among others.
Now, we can add one more upcoming series to the mix. Variety reports that James Wan’s production company Atomic Monster has purchased the rights to Pacific Drive, one of 2024’s most critically-acclaimed games. Created by Cassandra Dracott and Ironwood Studios and released in February of this year, Pacific Drive was nominated for best debut indie game at the 2024 Game Awards. It was also nominated for Best Game at the BIG Festival, where it ultimately won Best Gameplay.
Numerous online reviews praised the game for its originality and ingenuity. Polygon writer Oli Welsh states, “Pacific Drive is tough, original, and brilliantly conceived, pilfering design concepts and gameplay loops from several different genres and folding them into an identity that is strongly its own.”
The official description of the game reads:

‘Pacific Drive’ is a first-person driving survival game with your car as your only companion. Navigate a surreal reimagining of the Pacific Northwest, and face supernatural dangers as you venture into the Olympic Exclusion Zone. Each excursion into the wilderness brings unique and strange challenges as you restore and upgrade your car from an abandoned garage that acts as your home base. Gather precious resources and investigate what’s been left behind in the Zone; unravel a long-forgotten mystery while learning exactly what it takes to survive in this unpredictable, hostile environment.

Wan and Atomic Monster Feel Like A Perfect Fit For ‘Pacific Drive’

The premise of Pacific Drive feels perfectly aligned with television storytelling principles. One can imagine each episode of the series as a different journey into the unforgiving wilderness, with a larger mystery surrounding the proceedings that will either resolve itself or deepen by the season finale. Moreover, James Wan and Atomic Monster seem like the perfect outfit to bring Pacific Drive to life, given the director’s rich history in the horror and adventure genres. From The Conjuring to the Aquaman franchise, Wan is especially equipped to tackle the upcoming television series.

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Wan will executive produce the series alongside Atomic Monster’s Michael Clear and Rob Hackett, as well as Jeff Ludwig of The Menagerie Productions. Atomic Monster recently released the Peacock horror series Teacup from Yellowstone producer Ian McCulloch. They’re also behind the upcoming thriller Copenhagen, starring and executive produced by Simu Liu, Obsession, an adaptation of crime writer Catherine Ryan Howard’s novel 56 Days, 1313, a horror reboot of The Munsters, a RoboCop series, and a live-action adaptation of Gargoyles.
No release date for Pacific Drive has been announced yet. The series is not currently attached to a network or streaming platform.