One of the First Video Games in History Is Getting Adapted As a Movie, & We Have Questions

Movies based on video games have had some pretty big hits recently. A Minecraft Movie had an impressive box office run, even with the Chicken Jockey drama of it all. And Super Mario Galaxy was the first movie to hit $1 billion in box office revenue in 2026. So it’s not surprising that studios are lining up to make more movies based on video games. What is surprising, however, is that a new deal between Atari and Universal Pictures could give us a movie about Pong. Yes, you read that right.

On July 23rd, Deadline revealed that Entertainment 360 and Atari have signed a new deal with Universal Pictures. The partnership gives the studio rights to develop movies based on 10 classic Atari games. It’s certainly a different direction than adaptations like The Minecraft Movie, which capitalize on games that are popular right now. But the deal could bring us games based on some of the very first video games ever made. Let’s just say some of these feel like a more natural fit than others.

Pong And Other Classic Atari Games Are Getting Film Adaptations Thanks to New Deal

According to Deadline, Universal Pictures wants to “use the IP to create big-scale action-adventure” movies. Of the 10 games included in the licensing deal, some fall more naturally into that category than others. The 10 Atari games that are now up for adaptation are:

• Asteroids
• Adventure
• Berzerk
• Breakout
• Centipede
• Crystal Castles
• Millipede
• Missle Command
• Pong
• Yars Revenge

Most of these games hail back to the early days of video games, which means their graphics were pretty bare-bones. But some, like Asteroids, feel ripe for an action-adventure adaptation already. It’s not hard to imagine an epic space story a la Star Wars that’s inspired by those pixel space battles. But Pong? That I honestly can’t wait to see.

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