Netflix has announced three Sega video game adaptations: a live-action comedy Crazy Taxi movie, a new Sonic animated series, and a live-action movie adaptation of RGG Studio’s yet to be released Stranger Than Heaven.
The Crazy Taxi movie is described as ‘live-action comedy,’ and the Stranger Than Heaven adaptation is ‘live-action crime.’ The new Sonic animation is obviously for kids.
Crazy Taxi comes first. It’s written by Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, the duo behind the 2025 reboot of The Naked Gun. Neal H. Moritz, Toby Ascher, and Toru Nakahara, the producers behind the Sonic franchise, are on board to produce.
“Great games already have what every adaptation is chasing — characters people love, worlds they know by heart, and fandoms that show up,” commented Brandon Riegg, VP of Nonfiction and Transmedia at Netflix. “With Crazy Taxi, Sonic, and Stranger Than Heaven, we get to work across three completely different eras of Sega’s catalog, celebrating everything fans love, while introducing them to new audiences.”
Shuji Utsumi, President and COO of Sega, added: “We’ve watched Netflix take on stories across every kind of format and treat each one with real craft, and seeing that same dedication applied to Sonic, Crazy Taxi, and Stranger Than Heaven is something we at Sega are incredibly proud to be a part of. The fandoms of these games deserve storytelling that honors what makes each title special, and we know Netflix shares that commitment. This is just the start of what these titles can become.”
Toru Nakahara, Head Producer at Sega, told fans to expect “something cute yet cool” for Sonic, something “hilariously crazy” for Crazy Taxi, and a “badass action drama” for Stranger Than Heaven. Moritz and Ascher said of Crazy Taxi: “This film is for anyone who’s spent hours behind the wheel of a yellow cab on their Dreamcast, with the music cranked up, smashing through everything in sight just to make the next fare.”
Here’s the official blurb on Sonic:
The new animated series, currently in development with Carlos Stevens and Toru Nakahara, will present Sonic and his friends as heroes for an upper pre-school audience — a high-voltage, comedic, yet emotionally grounded series built for kids who want to feel a little edge, a little attitude, and a lot of “that’s my crew” wish fulfillment. Three seasons of Netflix’s Sonic Prime are also now available to stream only on Netflix.
And here’s the official line on Stranger Than Heaven:
From RGG Studio — developer of the Like a Dragon / Yakuza series — Stranger Than Heaven takes place in early 20th-century Japan, following a foreigner who claws his way from destitute stranger to feared yakuza to entertainment tycoon. Against the backdrop of a changing nation, how will he build an empire while balancing honor and betrayal? Details are under wraps, but a live-action film will bring a new lens to this epic world and franchise.
Netflix is all in on video game adaptations, and there’s a lot in the works. It’s got a live-action Assassin’s Creed series, live-action Gears of War film, animated series adaptations based on Minecraft, Magic: The Gathering, and Clash of Clans, and Overcooked competition series; second seasons of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Splinter Cell: Deathwatch; and the third and final season of Devil May Cry. At BlizzCon 2026 over the weekend, Blizzard announced a Diablo animated series for Netflix, with talks ongoing for adaptations of Overwatch and Warcraft.
Wesley Yin-Poole
Director, News
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
