Over the past ten years, few American action franchises have matched the John Wick series in terms of adoration, influence, and critical acclaim. Starring Keanu Reeves as a retired hitman lured back into action by a group of Soviet gangsters’ disastrous choice, the franchise has already spawned four mainline films (and )—with a and another installment on the horizon. The expansive universe of rival assassins and hidden societies has evolved far beyond its origins—when a group of ill-fated criminals made one of the worst choices imaginable by killing a dog—and it’s set to expand even more in the coming months.
A new John Wick video game is on the way from developers at , a third-person shooter-action title designed to let players step into the boots of the deadliest assassin ever to serve the High Table. Though details are limited right now, a recent chat with Saber’s Chief Creative Officer could reveal some insights into how the game will fill in the gaps about Wick’s early years as a top-tier hitman.
Saber’s CCO Tim Willits discussed the game and the creative principles guiding their take on this beloved franchise. Willits noted not only that the films already have video game-like traits—such as the waves of foot soldiers Wick battles in each entry before going up against the boss-level rivals in every installment—but also revealed that the game is set before the first movie. He pointed to a trailer moment where John is being measured for his first iconic bulletproof suit, a staple of his later films.
A major question on fans’ minds following John Wick: Chapter 4—which acted as a climax to the current film arc—is how a sequel can exist after the character seemingly died in the last installment. While we won’t get that answer until the fifth film drops, the upcoming game avoids this issue entirely by focusing on one of the many contracts Wick must have completed before his on-screen debut. Given his legendary status and the countless minor characters who’ve heard stories of his feats, Saber Interactive has almost unlimited freedom to craft the character’s “origin” from scratch—similar to IO Interactive’s approach to their upcoming James Bond game;
Another advantage of the game’s timeline placement is its potential to reveal details about the many fabled “impossible” tasks teased in John Wick’s past throughout the films. These include the legendary, unnamed job that earned John his freedom (as described by Viggo Tarasov’s myth-building speech in the first film) and the mysterious incident where John killed three men in a bar using only a pencil. A large part of the character’s dangerous, enigmatic aura comes from these scattered stories shared by enemies and allies across four movies—wouldn’t it be satisfying for fans to step into John’s shoes and experience one of his many unfathomable feats as the Baba Yaga?
While no official release date has been announced yet, fans likely won’t have to wait much longer to step into the role of the Boogeyman and learn exactly where this upcoming game fits in the timeline.