Exit 8 (2023), the indie hit walking simulator for PC and VR headsets, is getting a live action film, bringing its Tokyo underground anomalies to the big screen this year.
Exit 8 is being made into a full-length film for worldwide release in 2025, which is being produced by Toho, the Japanese film company.
Toho is known for producing the Godzilla franchise, and distributing a slew of well-known Japanese films, including Akira (1988), Battle Royale (2000), Spirited Away (2001), as well as many of Akira Kurosawa’s most iconic films.
Taking place in a hauntingly sterile Tokyo metro passage filled with anomalies, the player has to reach the eponymous exit eight to survive. It’s part walking sim, part horror adventure, and entirely based on the Backrooms cult Internet lore.
“Make sure not to overlook any anomalies. If you find any anomalies, turn back immediately. If you don’t find any anomalies, keep going. Kindly exit through Exit 8,” the game’s description reads, available on the Horizon Store for Quest and PC VR headsets on Steam.
Here’s what original developer KOTAKE CREATE says on the film’s website (machine translated from Japanese):
“Exit 8” will be made into a live-action movie! I was surprised and grateful because I never expected that the game would be released at the end of November 2023 and then a movie would be announced about a year later.
When I heard about the movie, I wondered how they would turn a game without a story into a movie, but I think it has turned out to be an interesting movie without destroying the world view and atmosphere of “Exit 8”!
I also had the opportunity to visit the filming location, and it was really amazing to see the underground passage and the old man right in front of me! I hope you will look forward to it! I am also looking forward to the release!
Information is still thin, however Toho says it will be available worldwide and only in theaters. Just how the game will be teased out into a full-feature film remains to be seen, but either way color us curious.
