Lionsgate wants to make a AAA ‘John Wick’ game

Lionsgate is apparently considering developing a AAA game based on the John Wick franchise.

• READ MORE: ‘John Wick Hex’ review: an odd-looking adventure that reimagines Keanu Reeves’ iconic assassin as a master tactician

The news comes from CEO Jon Feltheimer (via IndieWire) who, during an earnings call, revealed that Lionsgate was interested in discussing proposals for a AAA John Wick game, though he was reluctant to give any specific details, implying that nothing had been decided yet.

“I don’t want to get ahead of myself here, but we believe there is a big AAA game to be made out of John Wick,” said Feltheimer. “We have been fielding proposals. We certainly are interested in moving that forward, but I don’t want to say anything more about that at this time.”

Should Lionsgate go ahead with this, it would in fact be the second video game to carry the licence. John Wick Hex, a strategy title from indie studio Bithell Games, was released back in 2019.

While John Wick Hex lacks the AAA-shine (and, of course, the budget) of the kind of game Lionsgate is now considering, it was well received at launch – earning a three star review from Tom Regan in NME.

Describing Hex as a “scrappy little indie game,” Regan heaped praise on the game’s combat system, adapting Keanu Reeves’ action ballet franchise into a grid-based, strategic combat approach. The game’s story also impressed, with our review hailing it as having “sharper writing than the films and a predictably solid performance from Troy Baker as the villain.”

Regan points out that Hex is a short-lived experience, however. With just seven maps, “this affordably priced title is hardly going to keep you occupied for days at a time.”

A new John Wick title would also, of course, mark the third time in recent years that a video game has been blessed with the likeness of Keanu Reeves, who famously starred in CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077. And that’s before we get to the Matrix games of old, if you want to go back that far.

In other gaming news, Overwatch 2 has unveiled its newest hero, Ramattra.