What you need to know
- Tim Miller—known for directing Deadpool, co-founding Blur Studio, and creating the hit anthology show Love, Death & Robots—took the stage during Gamescom Opening Night Live to reveal Secret Level.
- Secret Level is a new anthology series consisting of 15 stories inspired by a variety of games.
- Games include Armored Core, Concord, Crossfire, Dungeons and Dragons, Mega Man, PAC-MAN, The Outer Worlds, and more.
Amazon MGM Studios and Blur Studio have teamed up for a new anthology series inspired by video games for the Prime Video subscription service.
Blur Studios co-founder, Tim Miller, took the stage at Gamescom Opening Night Live 2024 to reveal the new project, titled Secret Level. Secret Level is an adult-animation anthology that draws inspiration from a variety of video games that will launch exclusively on Prime Video on December 10.
The trailer for Secret Level showcased a few of the games that served as inspiration for the show's fifteen stories. These games included:
- Armored Core
- Concord
- Crossfire
- Dungeons & Dragons
- Exodus
- Honor of Kings
- Mega Man
- New World: Aeternum
- PAC-MAN
- Sifu
- Spelunky
- The Outer Worlds
- Unreal Tournament
- Warhammer 40,000
- Various PlayStation titles (including God of War)
The short stories told in Secret Level are said to be standalone short stories set within the existing worlds of the games that inspire them. Tim Miller—known for directing 2016's Deadpool movie, as well as creating the Netflix anthology series Love, Death, & Robots—served as Executive Producer for Secret Level. Following the reveal, the official Twitter account for Armored Core shared an image from Secret Level with actor Keanu Reeves.
A new ARMORED CORE saga awaits. Just one of fifteen epic stories from Secret Level, the new revolutionary gaming anthology series coming December 10 on Prime Video. pic.twitter.com/SHm80ZWqwCAugust 20, 2024
Twitter accounts for PAC-MAN and The Outer Worlds have also shared the anthology's release date for Prime Video with screenshots of their respective characters and worlds. PAC-MAN Official's post shared a look at a gold PAC-MAN-shaped orb with a reflection. The post also shared an image of an ominous monolith with a red sun positioned in such a way as to make a PAC-MAN symbol while a robed character with a floating orb stands in front of it.
The reveal for Secret Level kicked off with a squad of space marines from the Warhammer franchise covered in bright blue bioluminescent gore before switching to a montage of doors opening, starting with a glimpse at Sifu. The camera then pans to a scene that's recognizable as being set in Obsidian's The Outer Worlds. Various clips of the anthology series play out, showcasing the different art styles and stories being told, before focusing briefly on a large dragon as it spreads its wings before an armored human. The trailer also provides a glimpse of a sword bridge, a shadowed look at Mega Man, and a few rapid-cut vehicle chases. The trailer ends on a scene from the New World: Aeternum with the line, "Come in. You have a game to play."
Amazon Games shared a blog post with additional details on New World: Aeternum's involvement with Secret Level. “This has been an incredibly fun project to work on with the teams from Amazon MGM Studios and Blur Studio,” said Scot Lane, Game Director of New World: Aeternum, “We’re thrilled to share a brand-new story and introduce more people to the New World universe through Secret Level.”
Amazon Games vice president Christoph Hartmann expressed the team's desire to create games that could successfully span multiple media types, explaining that transmedia opportunities were a part of the publisher's vision for New World and other IPs. "New World: Aeternum is a great example of an IP that has so much potential for adaptation," Hartmann said. New World: Aeternum will launch on Xbox Series X|S, PC, and PlayStation 5 on October 15 with an open beta going live September 13-16.
Amazon has seen notable success with its game adaptations for Prime Video. Most recently, the adaptation of Fallout as a Prime Video series was watched by more than 65 million viewers in its first 16 days. It was an even bigger hit for the streamer than the adaptation of the comic book series, The Boys. If you're planning to tune in to Secret Level on December 10 you will need a subscription to Amazon's Prime Video service.
