MGM, the studio behind the original WarGames, has teamed up with interactive-video company Interlude to create the video. The companies aim to put a modern spin on the original story, as well as alter the typical cinematic experience by integrating interactive aspects of video games. With multiple user-controlled outcomes, viewers have an incentive to watch and re-watch the WarGames interactive video.
“WarGames is the perfect MGM title for this innovative technology,” Roma Khanna, MGM Television Group and Digital president, told Variety. “It allows us to engage the audience in the fundamental questions of ‘What would you do?'”
Interestingly, the studio hasn’t made a specific plan to monetize WarGames; at this point, the innovative remake is an attempt to experiment with storytelling and providing audiences with new video experiences. “It was obvious to us that [WarGames] would be an extremely interesting place to start working on this interactive narrative concept with a movie franchise,” said Interlude CEO Yoni Bloch, referring to the original film’s premise.
The 1983 drama centers on David, a teenage computer genius played by Matthew Broderick, who accidentally hacks into a U.S. military supercomputer. Thinking he’s playing a game, he runs a nuclear war simulation, which inspires a national nuclear missile scare that almost starts World War III. The film, which also stars Alley Sheedy and Dabney Coleman, garnered critical acclaim, scoring three Academy Awards nominations.
MGM’s interactive reboot of WarGames is expected to debut in early 2016.
