Poppy Playtime Is the Latest Horror Video Game to Get the Movie Treatment

Game developer Mob Entertainment is partnering with Legendary Entertainment to create a movie based on its toy factory horror hit, Poppy Playtime.

Legendary is developing the video game-to-movie adaptation with producers Don Murphy and Susan Montford from Angry Films. Details on its plot and cast have yet to be revealed. No release date has been confirmed.

HUGGY WUGGY WILL TERRORIZE IN THE POPPY PLAYTIME MOVIE. IMAGE COURTESY OF MOB ENTERTAINMENT.

Poppy Playtime centers around Playtime Co., a once-great toy manufacturer that fell from grace after everyone inside its factory disappeared. Players take control of a former employee who finds themselves sucked back to the factory long after the disappearances, and it doesn’t take long for them to discover that the toys seem to be more playful this time around.

Poppy Playtime released its free-to-play first chapter in 2021, with two more chapters adding to the story in 2022 and 2024. Mob says that its horror-puzzle gameplay, lore, and twists have managed to draw in more than 40 million players across PC, mobile, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation devices as well as on Roblox. It’s become so popular that some characters, like Huggy Wuggy and the Smiling Critters, have popped up across retailers in the form of collectible figures, plush toys, and costumes.

“When we first started this journey, we followed our passion and created a series of games and brands with the purpose of inspiring and entertaining. We’ve always dreamed big and are thrilled to have created something that has captured the hearts of tens of millions around the world,” Mob Co-founders Zach Belanger, CEO and Seth Belanger, CCO said in a joint statement. “This movie deal is a great logical next step in the growth of our transmedia entertainment company.”

Poppy Playtime falls in line with other recent adaptations that have brought gaming horror IP to the world of movies. Five Nights at Freddy’s is the obvious example, as Blumhouse’s live-action hit managed to jump scare audiences with tremendous success when it premiered last year and even managed to lock down plans for a sequel. An Until Dawn film is also on the way, as is a Dredge movie. We learned in January that a Martha Is Dead adaptation is on the way, too.

For more, you can read our list of the best horror movies on Amazon Prime Video, Shudder, and Netflix as of May 2024. You can also check out what we think is the best horror movie of 2023.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.

Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.