'When You Watch the Movies, They're Kind of Like Video Games' — John Wick Game Dev Teases a Younger Keanu Reeves

Earlier successful 2026, we got our archetypal look astatine Saber Interactive’s presently Untitled John Wick Game astatine a Sony State of Play. But isolated from an impressively cinematic trailer, precise small is known astir the upcoming project. Well, IGN precocious spoke with Saber’s Chief Creative Officer, Tim Willits, and squeezed a fewer other tiny details out.

A John Wick crippled seems similar a no-brainer. In theory, it's gun-fu action, which is not overly dissimilar from Remedy’s Max Payne bullet-time combat oregon Sifu’s hand-to-hand melee combos — the erstwhile has already received a movie adaptation, with the second successful accumulation astatine Netflix from, incidentally, John Wick’s Chad Stahelski. So, the Keanu Reeves-led movie bid making its mode into video games seems a earthy reversal of the adaptation process.

It’s a sentiment shared by Willits. “The large happening astir the Wick bid is erstwhile you ticker the movies, they're benignant of similar video games. You person a radical of enemies, past you person immoderate pugnacious guys, and you person a brag fight, and past you person a radical of enemies, pugnacious guys, and a brag fight. So it's truly breathtaking to bring that enactment to a video game. It's going to beryllium similar watching a movie. That's each I tin say.”

While the operation of the crippled remains unknown, we tin infer that this volition possibly beryllium a level-based enactment crippled successful the mold of classics similar the aforementioned Max Payne, if the travel of grunts, brutes, and bosses that Willits mentioned is arsenic suggested. What we bash know, however, is erstwhile the crippled volition beryllium set, and, successful turn, however its spot connected the John Wick timeline whitethorn interaction its benignant of gameplay.

“So yes, it's earlier movie one,” Willits confirms. “And you tin benignant of infer that due to the fact that [in the uncover trailer] he's getting measured for his suit, and helium looks a small spot younger.”

Because this John Wick is simply a prequel, Saber’s volition is for fights to beryllium a small spot much clumsy than what fans person seen connected the large screen, and the combat is much instinctual. This would, successful theory, springiness the crippled a bully consciousness of progression, arsenic we presumably summation acquisition and unlock skills connected our mode to becoming the much-feared Baba Yaga fig inhabited by Keanu Reeves’ assassin successful the archetypal movie. It also, crucially, means helium isn’t fuelled by the execution of his beloved dog, so, thankfully, we won’t person to spell done that trauma each implicit again.

We’ll larn plentifulness much astir the Untitled John Wick crippled arsenic we creep person to its release, but Willits is precise excited astir getting it successful players’ hands, claiming it's “Saber's biggest announcement we've ever done.”

For a developer present highly adept successful adapting existing IP into games, that’s nary tiny claim, with the highly palmy Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 and Evil Dead: The Game nether the studio’s belt, arsenic good arsenic the upcoming John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando, Jurassic Park: Survival, and Hellraiser: Revival.

Simon Cardy is simply a Senior Editor astatine IGN who tin chiefly beryllium recovered skulking astir unfastened satellite games, indulging successful Korean cinema, oregon despairing astatine the authorities of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him connected Bluesky astatine @cardy.bsky.social.