Neill Blomkamp is making the jump into gaming by working with studio Gunzilla Games to create a AAA multiplayer shooter. The reveal was part of an interview Blomkamp gave IGN, in which the District 9 director talks about using his screenwriter experience to build a gaming universe.
Gunzilla Games was founded by game developers coming from AAA studios such as Crytek, Ubisoft, and EA. In pre-production, their first game will have Blomkamp working as “Chief Visionary Officer”, a position created specifically for the filmmaker. While describing his new position, Blomkamp said “It comes from a place of bringing directorial skills that would be along the lines of the films that I've done before to the aesthetic of the game."
Blomkamp also discussed the differences between directing a movie and working on a game, underlining how the game development experience is more horizontal than filmmaking since different team members need to agree to all his proposals. As Blomkamp explains it:
"I can come in with a very definitive point of view, but it has to work on two levels. It has to be accepted by the greater team as the right creative direction to go in. And it also has to be, first and foremost, something that can integrate into the architecture of gameplay in a way that's beneficial to the game."
During the interview, Blomkamp also emphasized that his work with Gunzilla is not a side project from his filmmaking career. Contrary to George R. R. Martin’s work with FromSoftware in the upcoming Elden Ring, Blomkamp sees his new experience as the first step into making only games in the future. As Blomkamp puts it:
"Games will [...] become what films were in the 20th century. They'll just be the thing that is the dominant form of cultural entertainment, and [I want] to be in that. Mixing my history in visual effects and interest in 3D graphics means I want to have a home base in the creation of games for a really long time. So if the game is a success and everything works out, hopefully, I'm staying at Gunzilla for a long time."
Blomkamp’s next movie, Demonic, comes to theaters and to VOD services on August 20. The director is also working on District 10, the sequel to his acclaimed debut featured District 9.