2025 was a huge year for Stephen King adaptations. In movie theaters this year we had The Monkey, The Long Walk, and The Running Man, and on TV there was IT: Welcome to Derry and The Institute. That makes it the biggest year for King adaptations since 2017, which gave us The Dark Tower, It (the movie), 1922, Gerald’s Game, and TV series based on both Mr. Mercedes and The Mist.
We all know the last few years have also seen a rise in great co-op horror games like Lethal Company, REPO, Content Warning, and Sons of the Forest—gamers seem to enjoy nothing more these days than getting scared together.
So, like… where are all the Stephen King games at? Huh? People love Stephen King. People love scary games. There’s certainly no shortage of material to work with, to the tune of 60+ books, 200+ novellas and short stories. Can we get going on this already?
I don’t know if there’s a specific reason for so few King adaptations—I did request an interview through King’s agent, though I haven’t heard back yet and don’t especially expect to—but with so much crossover between movies and games these days, it seems natural that there would be more crossover from books to games, too. I’m not saying I want to see tons of licensed videogame dreck being churned out, but surely the master of horror is deserving of a few great videogame adaptations to go along with all those movies.
As proof for the potential for Stephen King games, here’s some elevator pitches I came up with. If someone can get this list to Steve, I’d be happy to discuss these ideas (and my modest six figure consulting fee) with him.
The Shining: A hotel management game
Manage the Overlook Hotel year-round: hire staff, manage supplies and budgets, decorate, make visitors happy, deal with occasional horrors in some of the rooms and elevators filled with blood and hedge maze monsters, and make sure you closely screen your winter caretaker.
The Long Walk: A QWOP Battle Royale
A hundred players start walking with QWOP or Baby Steps-esque controls. Slow down or fall over too many times, and you get your ticket.
Battleground: An asynchronous PvP shooter
One player is Renshaw, a normal-sized person, and the other 50 players are little green army men. It’s war, the way Toy Story should have been. (Based on the short story in Night Shift.)
The Mist: A horror extraction shooter
Drop in with buddies to a town shrouded in a murky, monster-filled mist, rescue stranded citizens and loot for gear, and try to get out again within 30 minutes. Friendly fire is enabled.
Survivor Type: A survival game
I did, in one survival game, eat my own dead body after respawning in a new body. But I’ve never eaten my body while I was still inhabiting it. (Based on the short story in Skeleton Crew.)
Under the Dome: A city builder
Tired of people moving out of your city when you do a poor job managing it? Well, now they can’t leave. ‘Cos of the dome. Watch out for meth labs.
Quitters, Inc.: A factory game
Set up fun automated treatment centers to help the population quit smoking—like rooms where they watch loved-ones get electric shocks. (Based on the short story in Night Shift.)
Misery: An open world action game
There’s a huge, fully simulated open world, but you mostly ignore it to hang around your house to make sure your favorite author finishes his new book.
Pet Sematary: A cozy life sim
Think Animal Crossing but you’re tending a burial ground, overseeing the resurrection of zombie pets, and making sure your villagers don’t try to bury real bodies there.
And that’s just off the top of my head! Actually, several of our heads: The Mist as an extraction shooter was Jake’s idea, and Wes’ came up with the pitch for Pet Sematary.
Either way, there’s lots to work with. Let’s get on it.
