Paramount Skydance has reached an agreement with Microsoft-owned Activision to adapt one of the globe’s most lucrative video game franchises, Call of Duty, into a live-action motion picture that will seek to deliver the same scope and intensity that has made the series successful for twenty years.

The deal, announced Tuesday, retains Paramount to develop, produce, and release the adaptation, the first time the military shooter franchise moves from consoles to the cinema. The game, which has sold more than 500 million units worldwide since its release in 2003, is the top-selling video game franchise in the United States for 16 consecutive years and has earned more than $30 billion in lifetime sales.

Call of Duty: From console to cinema

David Ellison, chairman and chief executive officer of Paramount, said the project represents a personal milestone.

“As a lifelong fan of ‘Call of Duty,’ this is truly a dream come true,” he said in a statement. “From the first Allied campaigns in the original ‘Call of Duty,’ through ‘Modern Warfare’ and ‘Black Ops,’ I’ve spent countless hours playing this franchise that I absolutely love. Being entrusted by Activision and players worldwide to bring this extraordinary storytelling universe to the big screen is both an honour and a responsibility that we don’t take lightly.”

Ellison continued to signal that the very disciplined thinking that guided Top Gun: Maverick’s 2022 success would be employed by Paramount. “We are dedicated to making a motion picture experience that respects this franchise’s heritage, thrilling longtime fans while entertaining an entirely new generation,” he said.

The film is positioned as a franchise starter with the potential to expand into sequels and spinoffs. According to Variety, the deal extends not just to one feature but also establishes the call for an expanded universe of Call of Duty in film and television.

Activision President, Rob Kostich, highlighted the significance of the adaptation to the international fan base of the franchise. He noted that year after year, Call of Duty has swept away the imagination of gamers with incredible action and compelling storytelling that brought together millions of players around the world.

“With Paramount, we have found a fantastic partner who we will work with to take that visceral, breathtaking action to the big screen in a defining cinematic moment. The film will honor and expand upon what has made this franchise great in the first place, and we cannot wait to get started,” he said.

No official information has been made public yet, including details on what sub-series or eras will be the central material of the narrative. The franchise spans different timelines from World War II and the Vietnam War to the modern-day special operations and potential future conflicts. Tying fan favourite stories like Modern Warfare and Black Ops already established interconnected characters and storylines that could be employed for recurrent cinematic fare.

The deal follows Paramount on a hot streak as it seeks to boost its intellectual property holdings after it acquired David Ellison’s Skydance in an $8 billion merger last month. In the last couple of weeks alone, the studio closed a multi-year exclusive deal with Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers and paid $7.7 billion for broadcast rights to Ultimate Fighting Championship events.

Gaming IP in Hollywood

The studio’s move follows a pattern for large film studios looking to video game franchises as source material of choice in an era where new blockbusters are increasingly becoming the exception rather than the rule. Universal and Illumination turned Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. into a billion-dollar box-office franchise in 2023, and Paramount already has a hit with Sonic the Hedgehog, which spawned sequels and streaming spinoffs.

Sony is cooperating with Nintendo on The Legend of Zelda and Street Fighter, Metal Gear Solid, Mortal Kombat, and Elden Ring games are in development.

The agreement with Activision also reflects Microsoft’s bigger ambition, having completed its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2023. That buy brought Microsoft Gaming to the summit of Call of Duty and other successful franchises, including World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch. Activision has kept on making games, but taking Call of Duty to the cinema is one of its first big-scale licensing endeavours under Microsoft ownership.