Barbarian, 2022's most messed-up horror movie, is getting a single-player video game from the Friday the 13th and Evil Dead: The Game devs

Jordan Gerblick
·2 min read
Bill Skarsgard in Barbarian.
Bill Skarsgard in Barbarian.

Barbarian, arguably 2022's wildest, most disturbing horror movie, is getting a video game adaptation from developers who worked on Friday the 13th: The Game and Evil Dead: The Game.

A few things up front: the Barbarian game is being developed by Diversion 3 Entertainment, which assisted both IllFonic and Saber Interactive with the multiplayer Friday the 13th and Evil Dead adaptations, respectively. That said, the Barbarian game is clearly billed as a single-player outing for consoles and PC.

"We're very excited to work with the team at New Regency to expand on the settings, characters, and creatures of Barbarian," said Diversion3 executive producer Tim Hesse. "The film did a magnificent job of not only scaring audiences with its unexpected and horrifying twists and turns, but also in establishing strong characters thrown into terrifying situations. We look forward to exploring these themes further in the game."

Virtually nothing else about the project is known at the moment. No specific platforms have been listed, nothing about the gameplay has been revealed beyond a single-player scope, and there's no release date or window yet.

The movie stars Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, and Justin Long, and it centers around a young woman (Campbell) who books a rental home only to find a man (Skarsgård) already staying there. The pair hit it off the first night, but that's where the pleasantries end. While ominous enough already, believe me when I say that synopsis does very, very little to convey just how utterly depraved and unpredictable this movie is. I can't wait to see how it plays out in video game form.

"Expanding the Barbarian universe into gaming provides a new way to capture the horror that made the film such a success. We’re thrilled to collaborate with the incredibly talented team at Diversion3 Entertainment to immerse new and existing fans in this world," said New Regency chairman and CEO Yariv Milchan.

There's still a few more days of the spooky season to watch the best horror movies and play the best horror games.