Free Guy joins the league of good video game movies

**This story about good video game movies, boiled down, in 1:18 minutes.**

What's the fuss?

The new film Free Guy starring Ryan Reynolds has been both a commercial and critical success - a rare feat for a video game related movie. This can be partly attributable for the film's targeted marketing strategy towards a particular audience.

The situation

When a ordinary bank teller realizes he's a non-player character (NPC) in an open-world video game, he decides to take action to save the game he inhabits from the threat of deletion by the game's creator.

Such is the logline of the new Ryan Reynolds movie Free Guy, set in an entirely fictional video game vis-à-vis Grand Theft Auto.
After being delayed for over a year due to the pandemic, the film released in theatres only to be streamable after a month's time.

So far, Free Guy has garnered positive reviews from critics and movie goers alike.

The film has already been so successful that Disney has already greenlit a sequel.
Although the quality of the movie is a large reason for it's success, it's marketing strategy towards gamers may have brought it over the top.

Boiling it down

Video game movies are notoriously bad, so much so that most are considered critical and commercial failures.

The issue with these adaptations is that they often stray away from the game's narrative themes, focusing on tired movie tropes rather than staying true to the game's plot.
As a result, these movies alienate the game's core fanbase while being simultaneously bland - pleasing no one.

Studios who make video game movies aim to engage with an audience that are going to the theatres less and less and have more discretionary income than the average person.

From creating fake video game posters, having Ryan host a NPC awards show, and showcasing famous streamers, marketing for this movie has been top notch in getting gamers back into theatres.

Thank you so much for reading! Please consider subscribing if you enjoy stories like this delivered directly to you every Tuesday and Friday morning!

Any and all feedback is valid and welcome.