The Broken Sword adventure game franchise is heading to film. Story Kitchen, the production company behind the Sonic the Hedgehog movies and Netflix's Tomb Raider animated series, is developing the adaptation with writer Evan Spiliotopoulos scripting the project.
Spiliotopoulos brings credentials from live-action Beauty and the Beast and the GI Joe spin-off Snake Eyes. The project remains without a director at this stage, though franchise creator Charles Cecil has signed on as a producer, marking his return to the big-screen effort after failed attempts in the late 2000s.
Story Kitchen co-founders Dmitri M. Johnson and Michael Lawrence Goldberg outlined their approach in a joint statement, framing the work as translation rather than transformation. "Very few franchises of this era have stayed relevant, premium, and loyal to the intelligence of their audience. Broken Sword has done all three," they said. "Our work here isn't to adapt a game into a film. It's to move a world that has been building for three decades into the next medium it deserves, working hand-in-hand with the people who built it."
Cecil, founder and CEO of Revolution Software, expressed confidence in the partnership. "Story Kitchen came to this project with a deep passion for the IP," he said. "That's rare. The creative conversations have been about translating what Broken Sword is, rather than what it can be made to look like. I am hugely excited to be working with Story Kitchen and Evan."
The series follows an American lawyer and a French journalist navigating conspiracies and mysteries across globe-spanning adventures. The original Broken Sword games established themselves as cornerstones of the adventure genre, and the franchise has maintained active community engagement. A sixth installment was announced in 2023, though details have remained scarce since then.
Recent fan enthusiasm provides a hopeful sign for the film's potential. A Kickstarter for Broken Sword Smoking Mirror: Reforged, a collector's edition, raised over 743,000 British pounds from nearly 5,000 backers despite a modest 50,000 pound initial goal, demonstrating the series' enduring appeal.
Story Kitchen has become a major force in adapting games for screen, with multiple projects in development including Split Fiction, Sleeping Dogs, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The company's track record includes both theatrical and streaming releases, positioning it as a credible steward for legacy gaming IP.
Author Emily Chen: "After decades of dormancy in Hollywood's development hell, Broken Sword finally has a shot with a partner that seems to understand what made the games work in the first place."
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