Australian-made point-and-click adventure game The Drifter, developed by Melbourne-based studio Powerhoof under the direction of developer Dave Lloyd, is rumoured to be getting a film adaptation, courtesy of an unnamed major studio.
The news was tucked into a new interview with production company and video game adaptation specialists Story Kitchen, with senior staff sharing the tale of its founding and growth with GamesIndustry.biz.
The Drifter film adaptation – quick links
Story Kitchen at work on a film adaptation of The Drifter
In recent years, Story Kitchen has become known for working alongside other production companies to develop adaptations. Its credits currently include the Sonic the Hedgehog films and the animated Tomb Raider series, and soon that will also include a raft of other games-to-movies.
Among the projects currently in development are adaptations of Life is Strange, It Takes Two, Sifu, Sleeping Dogs, Slime Rancher, Streets of Rage, Vampire Survivors, Toe Jam & Earl and Split Fiction. The last of these is currently progressing at speed, with the headline-grabbing Sydney Sweeney on board to star.
Per Story Kitchen, another game that’s now in line for adaptation is The Drifter, which actually caught the eyes of the the team during the BAFTA Awards selection process.
Story Kitchen co-founder Dmitri M Johnson told GamesIndustry.biz that as a BAFTA voter, he plays many of the games that are submitted for nomination each year, and that’s how he stumbled across The Drifter. While the game was not specifically nominated, the story and plot caught Johnson’s attention. After playing and enjoying the experience so much, he said he tracked down Australian developer Dave Lloyd.
It appears the conversation resulted in an agreement to adapt the game, and he told GamesIndustry.biz that a ‘major studio has made an offer’.
For now, that’s about all we know of plans to adapt the game – but regardless, it’s very exciting, both for the Powerhoof team, and for those who want to see more Australian-made stories on the big screen.
ScreenHub: All the latest news about video game adaptations
A rich narrative adventure ripe for adaptation
It’s certainly a game that lends itself well to adaptation. As we noted in our five-star review of The Drifter in 2025, the game has a twisting sci-fi story that keeps you hooked.
The adventure follows the titular drifter, Mick Carter, who finds himself in a horrifying time loop, hunted by strange alien-like forces, as well as soldiers from an unknown army. In our review, we noted the game’s gorgeous cinematic tone, lush writing and strong voice acting, all of which contribute to a grimy, richly-textured adventure that brims with flair.
ScreenHub‘s review continued: ‘The Drifter is a wildly ambitious noir sci-fi story that makes the most of its station, injecting meaning into every key frame, into every puzzle. It’s proof positive that story scope is never limited by team size, just the vision of your ambition, and the talent backing its delivery.
‘One of smartest choices here is in defying expectations. The Drifter opens as one thing, and as plot threads unravel, it becomes something entirely other, in a way that feels earned, thanks to clever writing and a plot that unfolds with a defined logic to each stage. Clues to the game’s winding conclusion are scattered throughout, with asides in narrative to push you along the right track, before Mick’s world is fire-blasted to bits.
‘It’s rare that modern stories make an impact on the zeitgeist, or that they arrive with such a gripping feeling of originality. Playing The Drifter, I was struck by a sense of its enormity, and just how rich it felt, as a gritty Australian story. I found myself thinking about its wider potential, and what more could come of it.’
As it turns out, that ‘wider potential’ could soon be realised, with Story Kitchen reportedly working alongside Powerhoof on a major adaptation.
