Compulsion Games has linked up with dj2 Entertainment and Gold Circle Films to make it happen. The former is currently developing an adaptation of another video game, Sleeping Dogs, while the latter is best known for Pitch Perfect. While the Pitch Perfect production company may not sound like a good fit for We Happy Few, Gold Circle Films has also produced horror films such as The Haunting in Connecticut and White Noise.
The adaptation, while very early in development, looks to capture the aesthetic of the game.
“Our commitment is to make a movie that remains true to the source material, while still surprising fans,” dj2 Entertainment CEO Dmitri M. Johnson said. He and Chief Content Officer Dan Jevons will serve as producers alongside Gold Circle’s Paul Brooks.
We Happy Few, the video game, is set in an alternate 1960s timeline influenced by the aftermath of World War II swinging in a different direction. It takes place in a small English town where the government conceals rampant violence and a dark secret by placing all of its residents under the influence of federally mandated drugs that induce unsettling happiness. The game is currently in early access on Steam, as Compulsion continues to work with the narrative.
Although the film will stick with the central themes of the game, it’s unclear how closely its script will follow the game’s narrative. The project is currently seeking writers to turn the initial ideas for the adaptation into a script.
Since the announcement came right before April Fool’s Day, Compulsion Games took to Twitter to confirm the adaptation’s authenticity.
Not an April's Fools folks. Also these things take years, you will see the game way before the movie comes out.
— Compulsion Games (@CompulsionGames) April 1, 2017
Video game film adaptations have a long and tortured history dating back to 1993’s live action Super Mario Bros. In 2016 alone, there were four video game adaptations, the best-received of which was The Angry Birds Movie, currently sitting at a dismal 43 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. And that mark fell just one point below the highest-rated international video game adaptation of all time: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.
We still don’t know an official launch date for the video game version of We Happy Few, but when it exits early access it will be available on Xbox One, PC, Mac, and Linux.
