Netflix and Sega Revive Crazy Taxi, Expand Sonic and Game Adaptations

LOS ANGELES — Netflix is expanding its library of video game screen adaptations through a multifaceted agreement with Japanese publisher Sega. The deal covers live-action feature films and animated series drawn from Sega’s legacy and upcoming game titles, extending a corporate relationship that previously produced the animated series *Sonic Prime*.

One of the agreement’s projects is a live-action crime film adaptation of *Stranger Than Heaven*, an upcoming action-adventure video game from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio (RGG Studio). The Sega-owned development studio is best known as the creator of the long-running *Yakuza*—now globally branded as *Like a Dragon*—franchise. *Stranger Than Heaven* is scheduled to launch across PC and home consoles on Jan. 15.

Sega’s classic arcade franchise *Crazy Taxi* is also being developed as a live-action feature film. The high-speed driving series was first created by Sega’s Hitmaker division in 1999 and became a flagship title for the Sega Dreamcast home console in 2000. The comedy film’s screenplay will be written by Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, whose recent writing credits include the reboot script for Paramount Pictures’ *The Naked Gun*.

For younger audiences, Netflix has greenlit a new animated television series based on Sega’s mascot franchise, *Sonic the Hedgehog*. The preschool project follows three seasons of *Sonic Prime*, a 3D animated series co-produced by Sega, WildBrain, and Man of Action Entertainment that aired on Netflix between December 2022 and January 2024.

The *Crazy Taxi* film’s development coincides with Sega’s broader initiative to revive several classic intellectual properties. The movie is expected to follow the release of *Crazy Taxi World Tour*, Sega’s upcoming video game entry in the franchise, which is slated for release next year.

According to official press materials released by Netflix, the preschool series is designed as “a high-voltage, comedic, yet emotionally grounded series built for kids who want to feel a little edge, a little attitude and a lot of ‘that’s my crew’ wish fulfillment.”

Netflix’s growing slate also includes a second season of *Cyberpunk: Edgerunners*, the animated series created in collaboration with game developer CD Projekt Red and Japanese animation company Studio Trigger. It is scheduled to premiere on Netflix next month. The original 10-episode anime series debuted in September 2022 and was set in the world of the video game *Cyberpunk 2077*.

Blizzard Entertainment announced during its annual BlizzCon convention that an animated television series based on its dark-fantasy action role-playing franchise *Diablo* is in development for Netflix. Blizzard executives also indicated that screen adaptations of other Blizzard gaming properties are currently being explored.

An adaptation of Ubisoft’s flagship historical-action franchise *Assassin’s Creed* is likewise in development as a live-action series. The project is set in ancient Rome and draws from the franchise’s multi-era storyline, which began with the release of the original game in 2007.

Netflix is also moving into unscripted gaming content with a reality cooking competition show based on *Overcooked*. The cooperative culinary simulation video game was developed by Ghost Town Games and published by Team17 in 2016.