A Firewatch Movie Is Officially in Development

Video game adaptations are quickly becoming all the rage. Now Campo Santo's introspective narrative journey Firewatch is joining the docket, again.

Announced today (via The Hollywood Reporter), Snoot Entertainment is partnering with Campo Santo to develop a feature film adaptation of Firewatch. Keith Calder and Jess Wu Calder from Snoot, the production company behind 2018's Blindspotting, will team with Sean Vanaman and Jake Rodkin of Campo Santo.

The Campo Santo camp has had quite a journey since the 2016 release of Firewatch. Following the success of its indie narrative adventure about walkie-talkies and paranoia, the studio was purchased by Valve in 2018, as it was working on its next game, titled In the Valley of Gods. Though it was revealed in 2017, the project went MIA upon Campo Santo's purchase.

When asked about it last year, Rodkin confirmed development was on hold, as members of Campo Santo were on other projects. Some of their work ended up in the VR exclusive Half-Life: Alyx, while others went to work on other Valve games like Dota Underlords.

This isn't the first time a Firewatch adaptation has been attempted. In 2016, Campo Santo was set to be working on a film with Good Universe. According to THR, when Good Universe was sold to Lionsgate, the rights for the Firewatch adaptation reverted back to Campo Santo.

Video game adaptations have boomed in popularity over the past few years. Capcom's Monster Hunter and Gearbox's Borderlands are due for film adaptations, while series like Castlevania, The Witcher, and soon Dragon's Dogma have found a home on Netflix. Success has been mixed, though; while Detective Pikachu and Sonic ended up being solid silver screen success stories, the Uncharted film has been churning through directors like Hogwarts runs through Defense Against the Dark Arts professors. Hopefully Campo Santo's production can fare better.