Horror Game Madison Heads Toward the Cinema With Story Kitchen Deal

Story Kitchen, a production company based in Los Angeles, has signed a deal with Bloodious Games to develop a feature film based on Madison, a horror game, Variety reported on Monday, 26 October.

The company is aiming for a theatrical release, which means a run in cinemas rather than a debut on a streaming service. The film does not yet have a distribution partner, the company that books films into cinemas and sells them to audiences. No cast, director, screenwriter or release date has been announced.

Story Kitchen specialises in turning video games into films. Its co-founders are Dmitri Johnson and Mike Goldberg, and Johnson is a producer of the Sonic the Hedgehog films. The company also holds a TV first-look deal at Amazon MGM Studios and an animated film first-look deal at DreamWorks Animation. A first-look deal gives a studio the first chance to buy or back a company's projects.

Madison is a first-person psychological horror game, which means players see the action through the eyes of their character. Players control Luca Maxwell. Dread Central describes the game as centred on a demonic ritual and an instant camera.

The game first launched in 2022. Its creator and director, Alexis Di Stefano, runs Bloodious Games. Madison won best narrative, grand winner, at the NYX Game Awards, and best game at EVA 2022. Bloodious has also released an immersive virtual reality version.

Daniel Richtman had reported the adaptation two days earlier, on 24 October, before Story Kitchen and Bloodious confirmed the deal.

Fans of the game have something else to look forward to. A new story expansion, The Maxwells' Curse, is set to arrive in 2027. It will be free for everyone who owns Madison.

For now, the film is a project with a goal and a company behind it, but little else is public. Every step from here, from finding a studio to choosing a director, will be a decision someone has to make.