Mobile auto-shooter Vampire Survivors is going to become an animated series. Believe it or not, the game actually does have enough of a story that somebody thought they could turn it into a TV show.
According to a report from Deadline, Vampire Survivors developer poncle is teaming up with media company Story Kitchen to "adapt the comedic gothic horror video game into a premium, animated television series."
The game itself seems to have very little actual story, and neither does the game's Steam or Google Play Store listings. But if you go to the Vampire Survivors Wikipedia or Itch.io pages, you'll find out that the game is actually set in rural Italy in the year 2021. Members of the Belpaese (not to be confused with Castlevania's Belmont family) attempt to rid the land of the evil Bisconte Draculó (not to be confused with Dracula) who has unleashed both famine and a monstrous horde for unspecified reasons.
Throughout the game, players will use various weapons, abilities, and magic spells to kill hordes upon hordes of monsters through varied locations such as a cursed forest, a haunted library, a scary tower, or an even scarier chapel. As a roguelite, players gather gold and resources until they're finally overwhelmed before starting over again with another character.
"The most important thing in Vampire Survivors is the story, so it’s a dream come true to see what started as a little indie game I made on my weekends come to life as an animated TV show!," poncle founder Galante told Deadline with tongue firmly planted in cheek. "It’s also great to be partnering up with such experienced and talented people to make the show. I do wonder if they’ve realized that there isn’t a single vampire in Vampire Survivors, though."
We're not sure how this project first firmed, but it seems that Story Kitchen might have reached out to poncle because they're big fans of Vampire Survivors.
"When our Head of Creative, Dan Jevons, flagged Vampire Survivors for us last year upon its initial release, we were prepared to dismiss it as just another vampire game. Hundreds of hours played later, we were all hooked, and we just could not get enough!" Story Kitchen co-founder Dmitri Johnson admitted. "Needless to say, we’re truly honored to partner with this incredible team and to continue the Vampire Survivors story!"
The setting seems a lot like Castlevania, so I could see this as a sort of comedic counterpoint to Netflix's highly-successful anime series. Story Kitchen is still searching for a writer for this Vampire Survivors animated series, so don't expect this show to hit your favorite streaming service anytime soon.