Vampire Survivors Dev Poncle Outlines Challenges of Film Adaptation: 'The Game Has No Plot'

Vampire Survivors developer Poncle has shed light on the challenges of adapting their hit game into a film, a project initially announced as an animated series in 2023. In a recent Steam post, Poncle confirmed they are "still working with Story Kitchen on a live action film," despite the shift in format. The primary hurdle they face is the game's lack of a traditional plot, making the adaptation process particularly complex.

Poncle emphasized their cautious approach, stating, "rather than jumping the gun and make stuff for the sake of making it, we have preferred to wait to find partners that felt right, especially because to make anything that isn't a video game out of Vampire Survivors requires good ideas, creativity, and that quirky knowledge of the game." They acknowledged the difficulty in finding the perfect blend of these elements, noting, "That is a very difficult triplet to get 100% right."

The developer humorously pointed out the irony of adapting a game with no plot, sarcastically remarking, "the most important thing in Vampire Survivors is the story." This underscores the uncertainty surrounding how the film will ultimately take shape, with no release date announced yet.

Vampire Survivors is a fast-paced gothic horror game with rogue-lite elements, where players can quickly gain power against hordes of monsters. Initially launched as a modest indie game on Steam, it unexpectedly became a massive hit, leading Poncle to expand the game significantly. It now features 50 playable characters and 80 weapons, not including the two major expansions and the Ode to Castlevania DLC.

IGN's 8/10 review praised the game, saying, "Need a game to play while listening to podcasts? This is it. Vampire Survivors is outwardly simple but turns out to be an incredibly deep hole to fall down — though it's not without extended dull periods when you get ahead of its curve."