Summary
Ubisoft has canceled their TV adaptation ofDriver.Driveris a video game series that released its first installment in 1999 with the game of the same name. Since then, the action-adventure driving franchise has released multiple installments, most recently withDriver: Renegade 3Dback in 2011. In the intervening years, video game company Ubisoft announced a TV adaptation was in the works back in 2021.
Three years after it was announced,Game Filehas reported the cancelation of theDriverTV series. This information comes from Ubisoft’s annual report, which was a 356-page digest that included updates on everything from the company’s policy on generative AI to how the group is experimenting with more sustainable cardboard packaging. In less exciting news, however, the report revealed thatUbisoft had called off their live-action TV adaptation ofDriver.
The Driver Show’s Cancelation Timing Seems Unusual
Video Game Adaptations Are Popular Right Now
While the specific reasons for theDrivercancelation were not detailed, there could be numerous factors leading to it. For one, Ubisoft may fear that interest in the video game has dwindled over time. While the action driving game remains a favorite franchise for the developer,the lack of newDriverprojects in the last decademay mean that the viable fan base for a TV show has dwindled. Additionally, Ubisoft has announced the development of moreDrivergames, and they might want to focus their attention on those projects rather than a TV adaptation.
Still, the current state of video game adaptations makes it such that the cancelation ofDriveris surprising.Video game adaptationshave been increasing in popularity in recent years thanks to several high-profile TV adaptations, includingThe Last of UsandFallout. Even in the film landscape, movies likeThe Super Mario Bros. Moviehave been huge successes. These adaptations have done well,with an increasing interest in adapting games into TV shows and films. This trend would seemingly lead more companies to adapt games, making the timing of theDrivercancelation surprising.
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Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey will return for a second season of HBO’s The Last of Us, which adapts the successful video game franchise.
Ubisoft also has a Film & Television branch, meaning that they have the infrastructure in place already to support such projects. This leads to even more confusion as to why theDriveradaptation may have been canceled at this time. The flip side of theplethora of video game adaptations, however, is thatDriverwould have high expectations to live up to.Perhaps Ubisoft did not want to invest time or money, at this point, to meet this high standard.
