YOU may be surprised to hear that in 2023 The Walking Dead was one of the top three most watched shows on Netflix.
The series ended in 2022, but the popularity of the 11 season show has more than endured.
The Walking Dead is just one of the many IPs owned by Skybound Entertainment, which while best known for its comics has since branched out into TV and games.
We had the chance to sit down with Skybound’s CEO David Alpert at Gamescom LATAM to talk about the company’s landmark titles as well as upcoming projects.
Alpert tells us: “I’m a fan – as a fan, this is something I want,” about plans to expand its series.
Alongside The Walking Dead, another of Skybound’s most popular IPs is Amazon Prime series Invincible, which could see a video game adaptation in the future.
However, Skybound also has access to Transformers and Void Rivals thanks to its collaboration with Hasbro, so will these other series also be adapted?
Alpert says: “You can’t make your multimedia franchise happen through ‘the secret’, you can’t just put it out into the universe and hope that happens.
“You have to find the fanbase that connects with it organically.
“Success is a conversation between the creative and the audience, and there’s a push-pull, but if nobody’s buying the comic book, there’s no show.”
Skybound has also been watching other media franchises and how they can see success even after years of absence.
Alpert continues: “It really is the dream. I don’t know about you, but for a decade and a half I was like ‘I can’t believe there’s no more freaking Star Wars’.
“There’s a window where [fans] want to be engaged, and [we] need to be engaging, otherwise it could be too late or a really long time.”
In terms of video games, Skybound has seen the most success with the excellent The Walking Dead series from TellTale games, but it has since expanded with its own Skybound Games studios.
It’s still happy to lend its IPs to other studios though such as with Omni-Man’s appearance in the recent release Mortal Kombat 1.
Alpert explains: “Robert [Kirkman, Skybound chairman] is a massive Mortal Kombat fan, and has been dying to find a way to get into the Mortal Kombat space for like 20 years.
“We’re like ‘Hey, remember us?’”
Skybound is following the trends and evaluating which IPs will do best when adapted to other media.
Alpert has a few in mind saying: “Impact Winter, our vampire audio fiction – it’s pretty great, and it was the number one Audible original of all time.
“We’ve done a soundtrack, but we’re going to be turning that into – hopefully soon – a television show.”
With a number of comic IPs in its library, it seems that Skybound has a lot more for gaming fans in the future.
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