Chernin Entertainment To Develop Screen Adaptations of ARC Raiders And The Finals

The film and television division of The North Road Company has reached an agreement with Japanese publisher Nexon and its subsidiary Embark Studios to develop adaptations of two video games. Each title is planned for development in two formats: theatrical and television. Specific production and release timelines have not yet been announced.

Notably, Chernin Entertainment prevailed in a competitive bid for the rights to both franchises. Several production companies and studios were vying for these projects, but Chernin was ultimately appointed lead producer for the adaptations of ARC Raiders and The Finals.

A Deadly Future Earth Under the Machines’ Grip

ARC Raiders is set on a deadly future Earth, where civilization has survived a catastrophe and faces an ongoing threat from mysterious machine-like creatures known as ARC. Players take on the role of Raiders, exploring an atmospheric yet hostile world, gathering resources and engaging in confrontations with both machines and other Raiders.

Within just months of its release, the game became one of the year’s biggest hits. Key milestones for the project are as follows:

• Released in October 2025
• Sales exceeded 16 million copies worldwide
• Best Multiplayer Game award at The Game Awards 2025
• Online Game of the Year title at the 29th D.I.C.E. Awards
• Best Multiplayer award at the BAFTA Games Awards 2026

Some players, however, were disappointed by the developers’ pricing strategy. Negative reactions were plentiful, given how widespread the desire to save money on video game purchases has become today. This is reflected not only in search query statistics, but also in the growing popularity of content about deals and other ways to save when buying video games. Against this backdrop, the developers’ initial announcement that ARC Raiders would be released as a free-to-play title was met with enthusiasm. The subsequent decision to sell the game was therefore met with criticism from the gaming community.

A Virtual Show Where Walls Come Down

The Finals is a free-to-play first-person shooter styled as a virtual combat game show. Its signature feature is destructible arenas modeled after real-world locations such as Monaco and Las Vegas. The gameplay mechanics are built around what is known as physics-driven environmental destruction, where buildings and objects respond to player actions as though governed by the laws of physics.

What Both Sides Are Saying

Patrick Söderlund, Executive Chairman of Nexon and founder of Embark Studios, described the agreement with Chernin Entertainment as “the next big step” toward transforming both games into full-fledged transmedia projects. He noted that Embark’s creative teams will work closely alongside Chernin on the adaptations to ensure that the spirit of the original universes carries over into the new formats.

David Ready, president of the film division at Chernin Entertainment, emphasized that both franchises represent large-scale global intellectual property (IP) with the potential to become major film and television series. The visually rich worlds created by Nexon and Embark contain, in his assessment, “countless stories” waiting to be brought to the screen.

The Track Record Behind Chernin Entertainment

The production company boasts an impressive track record in recent years. On the film side, its recent project Backrooms grossed over $400 million at the worldwide box office on a budget of just $10 million, while The Last House was released on Netflix. In television, the company’s credits include the Apple TV+ series Chief of War, Truth Be Told, and See, as well as the Netflix projects The Madness and Man on Fire.

Both Embark Studios and Nexon titles will receive television and cinematic adaptations under the producing guidance of Chernin Entertainment, with Embark’s developers remaining involved in the creative process to preserve the stylistic and narrative identity of the original worlds.