Popular Horror Game "The Exit 8" Heads to the Big Screen

Horror fans, get ready! Japanese subway horror game "The Exit 8" is being turned into a movie, and the first trailer just dropped. The film is set to hit Japanese theaters on August 29th this year, with Toho (yep, the folks behind Godzilla) handling distribution.

This adaptation comes straight from the eerie world created by Japanese studio Kotake Create. If you haven't played it yet, "The Exit 8" is simple yet tense: observe your surroundings as you walk through a repeating passageway. If you notice an anomaly—like a sign flipped upside down, a man walking unusually fast, or a creepy face on a poster—turn back immediately. If everything seems normal, keep moving forward. Success means progressing toward "Exit 8," marked by a counter increasing from 0 to 8 with each correct choice; failure resets you to zero.

The game has been quietly building a devoted following since it first appeared on Steam in November 2023. Since then, it's made its way to Nintendo Switch last April, PlayStation consoles in August, and Xbox Series X/S earlier this year. There's even a VR version for Meta Quest headsets, and it just landed on mobile devices too.

Gamers point to the game's simple-yet-effective visuals and skin-crawling atmosphere as key factors in its success. It's one of those games that does a lot with very little – just you, a corridor, and the growing feeling that something's not quite right.

With over 571k sales on PC (Gamalytic estimate) and a "Very Positive" rating on Steam (93% from 9k reviews), it’s spawned "Exit 8-likes" and a sequel, "Platform 8," released May 31, 2024.

Speaking of a film, behind the camera, we've got Genki Kawamura taking on writing, producing, and directing duties. He's got some solid credentials, having produced the anime film "Suzume" and directed "Hyakka" in 2022. Interestingly, he also produced Ed Sheeran's Pokémon music video "Celestial" – talk about range!

In front of the camera, Japanese actor/singer Kazunari Ninomiya will play the unfortunate soul trapped in the Japanese subway nightmare.

"The Exit 8" joins a growing wave of video games making the jump to film and TV. Other game adaptations include action titles like Helldivers 2, Horizon Zero Dawn, Street Fighter, Resident Evil, Sifu, Just Cause, Sleeping Dogs, and several others. We're also getting an anime version of Ghost of Tsushima, while God of War and D&D's "The Forgotten Realms" are headed to television.