Story Kitchen Partners with MoonHood to Adapt The Midnight Walk

Story Kitchen, the production company behind successful game adaptations such as Sonic the Hedgehog and Tomb Raider, has announced a new collaboration with Swedish developer MoonHood Studios to adapt the critically acclaimed game The Midnight Walk into film and television.

Released recently, The Midnight Walk is a handcrafted claymation dark fantasy game that immerses players in a haunting world of shadow and sorrow. Players follow a mysterious character known as The Burnt One through five eerie tales, guided by a flickering lantern creature named Potboy.

Available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation VR2, and PC via Steam, the game has received high praise from critics, with scores such as 9.5/10 from DualShockers and 9/10 from IGN, highlighting its unique visual style and emotional storytelling.

The creators, Klaus Lyngeled and Olov Redmalm, have built a reputation for combining tactile artistry with deep narrative design. Their dedication is evident in the game's handcrafted clay models and immersive storytelling.

Story Kitchen cofounders Dmitri M. Johnson and Mike Goldberg expressed enthusiasm about the project, noting the game's haunting beauty and emotional rawness. They aim to bring MoonHood’s vision to a broader audience through film and television adaptations.

The producers are currently in early development stages, meeting with writers to shape the adaptation. Story Kitchen’s experience with titles like Tomb Raider and Sonic the Hedgehog positions them well to handle this unique project.

Goldberg highlighted the game’s gothic world-building, comparing its aesthetic to classics like Nightmare Before Christmas, and expressed excitement about a Tim Burton or Guillermo del Toro style adaptation. Johnson emphasized the technological innovation behind the game, noting the use of over 700 physical models scanned into Unreal Engine, providing a rich asset base for production.

Story Kitchen currently holds a television first-look deal with Amazon MGM Studios and an animated film first-look deal with DreamWorks Animation, which could facilitate the adaptation’s distribution and production quality.

MoonHood Studios, based in Gothenburg, Sweden, is known for its unique blend of handcrafted visuals and emotionally rich storytelling, making The Midnight Walk a standout title in the indie game scene.

This collaboration exemplifies how innovative indie games with strong artistic vision can transcend gaming to reach wider audiences through film and television, leveraging both creative storytelling and technological advances.