Netflix is doubling down on gaming.
Netflix partnered with Sega. The multi-title deal covers three projects across three different eras of Sega's catalogue.
Crazy Taxi, is a live-action comedy written by Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, the pair behind the 2025 Naked Gun reboot. Original Film's Neal H. Moritz and Toby Ascher produce alongside Sega's Toru Nakahara, the trio behind the Sonic films.
The game was released in 1999 and has essentially no plot. You drive a taxi, you go fast, you chase tips that is it.
Second title is Stranger Than Heaven, a live-action crime film produced by Nakahara. It's an RGG Studio game, a prequel in the Like a Dragon lineage following a foreigner in early 20th-century Japan, and it doesn't come out until January 2027.
So Netflix film is based on a game with no players, no reception and no established fanbase.
Finally Sonic, a new animated series from Carlos Stevens and Nakahara, aimed at upper preschool. Separate from Sonic Prime, which ran three seasons from 2022 to 2024. Sega's description: "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."
The reasoning
Netflix VP of nonfiction and transmedia Brandon Riegg, the same executive who fronted the GTA 6 Extended Look stated "Great games already have what every adaptation is chasing, characters people love, worlds they know by heart, and fandoms that show up."
That thesis does work for Sonic. It's harder to apply to a 1999 arcade game about driving, or to a game that hasn't shipped.
Sega president and COO Shuji Utsumi "The fandoms of these games deserve storytelling that honours what makes each title special, and we know Netflix shares that commitment. This is just the start of what these titles can become."
Nakahara's summary "Expect something cute yet cool for Sonic, hilariously crazy for Crazy Taxi and a badass action drama for Stranger Than Heaven."
Netflix's pile
This joins Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Devil May Cry, a live-action Assassin's Creed series, a Gears of War film, and adaptations of Minecraft, Magic: The Gathering, Clash of Clans and Overcooked.
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