Video games are the next big thing in film and television

By Alexandra Suich Bass, Culture editor, The Economist

God may have created the world in six days; that is also how long it took Markus Persson, a Swedish developer, to design the first version of “Minecraft”. Permitting users to build their own worlds and visit others’ creations, it became the most successful video game of all time, surpassing 300m sales worldwide. Profits that dramatic were sure to attract Hollywood’s attention and inspire plans for a sequel, of sorts. In 2025 “Minecraft” the film, starring Jack Black, an American actor, will come to the big screen. It will serve as a pixelated pulse-taking of audiences’ appetite for adaptations of their favourite games.