Game publishing giant Activision Blizzard Inc has announced that it has hired veteran film producer Stacy Sher to serve as co-president of its recently formed film and television production company.

“Stacey is a rare talent behind two decades of award-winning television series and films. Her ability to collaborate with the most inspired, talented people in entertainment and her unyielding commitment to creativity make her perfectly suited to Activision Blizzard Studios,” Bobby Kotick, Chief Executive Officer of Activision Blizzard, said in a statement.

“As custodians of some of the world’s most successful entertainment franchises, we are thoughtfully and creatively expanding our franchises through television and films in a way that will honor the commitment our audiences make to our games.”

Sher has served as a producer on numerous high profile films, including several directed by Quentin Tarantino, such as Pulp Fiction and more recently The Hateful Eight.

Activision Blizzard first announced the formation of its new production company in November, saying that the publisher planned on making film and television content based on some of its biggest game franchises, including Skylanders, Call of Duty, and Diablo.

Will game adaptations ever work?

Over the years, many studios have tried to adapt video games for film and TV, and the quality has generally ranged from mediocre (Tomb Raider) to straight-up terrible (Super Mario Bros).

This year, Hollywood will once again be making the attempt with the release of two major game-to-film franchises: Blizzard’s own Warcraft, which is being produced by The Dark Knight and Jurassic World studio Legendary Entertainment, and Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed, which is being produced by Ubisoft Motion Pictures.

Expectations are high for both films, and their performance could make or break the future of game adaptations for several years to come, especially considering the massive budgets being poured into both. The Warcraft film alone is reported to have a budget of over $100 million.

Image courtesy of Legendary Pictures LLC