Those that succeed in one medium may feel so compelled to expand into others in hopes of growing their success. This is what movie producer Jason Blum is doing by adding a gaming division to his production studio. The man has made a career out of investing in a number of horror films varying in terms of quality, crew, and budget. However, his strategy has proven effective, and it appears that he wants to apply it to video games. With horror games having a large community of players and viewers, Blumhouse stands to either gain or lose quite a lot with the introduction of Blumhouse Games.
Introducing Blumhouse Games
Jason Blum made his debut on the silver screen when he launched Blumhouse Productions in 2000. Since then, both his reputation and net worth have grown through low-risk high-reward ventures, regardless of critical reception. Now, his company is starting to try its hand at horror video games by launching Blumhouse Games.
According to a report from The Verge, the division will function similarly to a publisher. The aim is supporting and financing indie game projects with budgets “below 10 million dollars.” However, as both creators and consumers understand clearly, it’s that transitioning from film to game is very difficult, with only a handful of truly successful examples. Still, Blum has the capital to take the risk, and his name certainly has enough clout to draw a crowd.
Blumhouse Productions specializes in financing and releasing as many low-budget (relatively speaking) horror films as possible. As indicated by the gaming model, the company tries to keep its million-dollar investments in the single digits. This has resulted in a number of found footage titles like the Paranormal Activity series and M. Night Shyamalan’s The Visit. There have also been many college-age cast horror titles such as Truth Or Dare and Fantasy Island, as well as some truly well-received titles like Jordan Peele’s Get Out. Game developers have proven time and time again that popular horror games can be made with a small team, but it all depends on what kind of development schedule Blumhouse Games expects.
Many modern and contemporary horror movies can be attributed to Blumhouse Productions, overall being financially successful. Using this as a platform, it will be expanding into Blumhouse Games, with many already awaiting its first title.
Will Quick is a freelance media wizard living in Spain. When he's not gaming or writing, he's doodling comics or whatever else pops in his head.
