Netflix to Adapt Catan into Multiple Formats

• Netflix secures global rights to adapt Catan into multiple formats.
• The game could inspire fantasy, or anime-style content.
• Catan has sold over 45 million copies, making its adaptations highly anticipated for a range of different content.

The beloved board game Catan will now be adapted into various scripted and unscripted formats, says Netflix. The game’s publisher, Asmodee, has also confirmed that the streaming giant has secured the global rights to expand Catan from just a board game to a multimedia entity. The producers of this project include Darren Kyman (Asmodee), Pete Fenlon (Catan Studio), and brothers Guido Teuber and Benjamin Teuber, the sons of Klaus Teuber, the game’s creator. Netflix has also said that Roy Lee from Vertigo Entertainment, is also included in the project.

Why Is Netflix Adapting Catan?

Thomas Koegler, CEO of Asmodee, expressed his enthusiasm for the Asmodee-Netflix partnership, identifying it to be a natural extension of the Catan legacy. Koegler notes that the adaptation has the ability to reach a wider audience, based on the fact that "millions of people [have been] enjoying Catan since it was created."

Additionally, board games have always been a popular form of family entertainment, and Catan, as per Koegler, "remains a gateway to modern board gaming," therefore, its adaptation project also showcases how board gaming has truly become "a part of pop culture."

What to Expect from Catan Adaptation?

Jinny Howe, Netflix’s head of scripted series, U.S. and Canada, is delighted as well. She also highlighted Catan’s core idea and emphasized that the use of intense strategy and negotiation in the game, "has endless opportunities for some serious drama," a characteristic she hopes will translate effectively on screen.

Jinny further added that they believed this "deal would be as game-changing as a well-placed settlement," therefore, they decided to pool their “resources across series, features, animation, and games” to show the full scope of the collaborative effort. As per Howe's statement, "hardcore ‘Settlers’ are going to lose their minds."

From Game to Screen

Originally launched in 1995 as The Settlers of Catan, the game has players gather and trade resources like wood, wheat, sheep, and ore to develop roads and settlements on a hex-tiled island. It has sold over 45 million copies and has been translated into over 40 different languages.

However, adapting Catan could be challenging. The game lacks a built-in narrative or characters. Nevertheless, combined with strategy, territory building, and growing alliances, the game may serve as a muse to serialized fantasy or anime-style narrative patterns. 

Expectations are already very high since Netflix already has a great game-to-screen portfolio consisting of Arcane, Castlevania, Family Pack, Exploding Kittens, the upcoming Assassin’s Creed series, the Monopoly reality competition, and the Gears of War film. With such adaptations under its belt, Netflix could turn Catan into a global transmedia star.