With the imminent release of Hogwarts Legacy and Gotham Knights, there are plenty of games that are harnessing the potential of pre-existing worlds to (hopefully) forge engaging stories and entertaining gameplay. The former is exploring a setting that has largely gone unnoticed in the AAA sphere, as Hogwarts and its surrounding areas are ripe for further tales to be told, and few games have truly taken advantage of it. Another example of such a location is Panem, the remains of the United States in which the much-loved Hunger Games books and films take place.
The Hunger Games is a trilogy of books from author Suzanne Collins, which quickly captured audiences' attention after the first was adapted into a film in 2012 starring Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth. The titular event is a tournament in which each of the twelve districts in Panem offer two children to compete in a winner-takes-all fight to the death. It has been replicated in the likes of Minecraft, though there has yet to be any kind of major video game adaptation of Collins' crowning achievement. This should change, as the property has a handful of features that would be perfect for gaming.
Panem is The Hunger Games' Home
Immersive open-worlds are a dime-a-dozen in 2022, and plenty have created a setting that is a treat to simply exist in. From the Continent of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to Los Santos in Grand Theft Auto 5, it's becoming commonplace to invent or reinvent pre-existing places in which a full-scale AAA game can take place. Panem has the potential to sit alongside such settings, as it is steeped in history that has shaped much of its customs and laws. The rebellion of District 13, the oppressive nature of the Capitol, and the smaller more intricate stories in each of the recognized districts that the Capitol so heavily relies on are all enticing elements that can serve to heighten a fantastic story.
World-building is very important, and having a sizable threat to make each step feel consequential can help to make the characters' journey all the more heroic. The Capitol is made up of an oppressive, self-centered, interdependent, and profoundly snooty bunch of have-it-alls, and the districts that surround it are only truly there to make the lives of the lucky few even better. Like Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, Panem is a setting at the mercy of a higher power that has no interest in improving the lives of those it governs. This is a formula that has been proven to world in video game world-building, but The Hunger Games has yet to enter the industry with any real success.
The Battle Royale Genre is Ripe for The Hunger Games
While the third book in the trilogy deals with the ever-looming threat of the Capitol and the oppression it enforces, the first two novels are centered around the titular Hunger Games. With 24 'tributes' and a limited rule book when it comes to how to off the other combatants, the format is far from new. Films like Battle Royale and even Highlander offer a similar philosophy, and the influx of like-minded games has been something the industry simply cannot ignore. Fortnite and Player Unknown: Battlegrounds took over the world, and Call of Duty: Warzone has done well to improve upon what came before.
There's something thrilling about being in the final few of a Battle Royale game, and while the consequences of losing a game in Fortnite are far less than they are in The Hunger Games, the feeling of being on the cusp of victory is something that is equal parts satisfying and terrifying. A Hunger Games title would ride the wave of a genre that shows no signs of stopping, while also potentially bringing fans of the property into a genre that they are otherwise unfamiliar with. On a mechanical level, The Hunger Games is a perfect fit for video games, and a AAA title within the franchise could use plenty of its own elements like the reaping and opening ceremony to make it stand out.
Anyone Can Be a Hero in The Hunger Games
Katniss Everdeen, while skilled with a bow, is a thoroughly average person at the beginning of The Hunger Games, though she slowly becomes something exceptional as the story goes on. The same can be said for Peeta, Finnick, and Haymitch, with the latter carrying his character flaws with him long after his success at the Second Quarter Quell. Should a Hunger Games title take the same route Hogwarts Legacy does with its custom characters, it would be easy to make players' creations fit into a story, developing them from relative obscurity to a victor of the Games or even the savior of Panem itself.
Character development could be seamless, and RPG elements like a player-made protagonist with a pre-selected backstory would be a perfect fit. It could have been anyone in Katniss' shoes, and each passing Hunger Games event makes a hero of normal people. The first book is set during the 74th Games, so aside from a few that are linked to other side characters, there are different years that could be at the center of the story. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes fills in some of the gaps during President Snow's youth, but there's much more history that could be explored in a game that it's hard to understand why it hasn't been done yet.
There's more to great game design than just intricate battle mechanics. Many titles in the AAA space rely on the settings they craft and the innovations they bring on an environmental and presentational level as well as a gameplay one. The Hunger Games is one of the few properties that is sorely underrepresented in gaming in proportion to the potential it has, so the fact that there has yet to be a high-budget project set in Panem is very frustrating to fans of the IP, as it could rob the medium of something special.