Beyond games: Why transmedia has reached an inflection point

• Kelly Vero suggests studios must move away from single-product thinking and build interoperable worlds.
• Russell Harding highlights immersive theatre, live events, and creator-driven communities as key extensions of universes.
• Josh Chapman points to game technology being used beyond the entertainment industry particularly in AI training, robotics and simulation.

Transmedia has boomed over the past few years and the industry has seen more video game film and TV adaptations than ever before, driven by a variety of goals, from expanding IP universes to engaging audiences across multiple formats and attracting entirely new audiences. 

What was once a rarity has become a strategic investment for many studios to increase community engagement with their top franchises. It’s not just film and TV, it’s books, comics, merchandise. And it’s not just in front of the camera, it's behind the scenes too, with game engines like Unreal Engine used in film.

Ahead of the Beyond Games: Transmedia Summit, which takes place at Pocket Gamer Connects London on January 20th, speakers from across the industry share their thoughts on the increasing influence of transmedia in the video games industry. 

“Transmedia isn’t a buzzword anymore," NAK3D technical founder, Kelly Vero tells PocketGamer.biz. "It’s the operating system of modern IP. We’re in a moment of creative destruction, and transmedia is the wrecking ball and the rebuild.”

Vero argues that the traditional Hollywood licensing model is no longer fit for purpose.

“The old Hollywood model is done, we all know it, and games are no longer the adaptation endpoint, they’re the gravitational centre. If an IP can’t survive outside its original container, it’s not a universe. It’s just content.”

For Vero, the shift is audience-led. Players and fans do not engage with worlds in a single place or format and now these audiences are increasingly expecting IPs to follow them across numerous platforms.

“Players today don’t sit inside a single medium. They roam," she says. "They move between games, socials, UGC platforms, fashion, film, cosplay, and fan economies. And they expect the world they love to come with them. That’s the real shift.

"Transmedia is no longer about expanding, its continuity, identity, and utility across every touchpoint.”

This change in how players want to engage has implications for how studios think about the value and longevity of an IP. Rather than focusing on individual products, Vero suggests that successful IPs must offer multiple entrances and no hard exits.

“Studios are finally realising that value comes from interoperable worlds, not single products. If it can’t evolve across formats, it won’t survive the next two years of audience behaviour." 

She describes transmedia not as a future trend, but as an active force reshaping the industry now.

“Transmedia isn’t the future, it’s the furnace. It’s burning down the siloed, inefficient, IP-hoarding model we’ve lived in for decades and replacing it with connected storytelling ecosystems that players can actually inhabit. Some studios will thrive in this shift. Some won’t. That’s creative destruction, sorry, the future won’t wait for feels.”

The transmedia expansion

Maze Theory chief gaming officer Russell Harding echoes the idea that transmedia’s growth is deeply rooted in changing audiences and their engagement with content today. Rather than passively consuming this content, there is an increasing desire to inhabit worlds across physical, digital and social spaces. 

“Transmedia is having a real moment because audiences no longer consume stories in one place, they want to live inside them," says Harding. "Games, films, TV, VR, live events, theatre, and social platforms are no longer separate lanes. They are all touchpoints in a wider narrative universe.”

Harding explains that audiences now expect worldbuilding, not just products. Players want universes they can step into and feel more involved in.

“Secret Cinema, Punchdrunk, and the Peaky Blinders immersive shows and festivals have shown how powerful it is when fans can physically inhabit the world.”

Harding also highlights how the role of creators has evolved. Streamers, YouTubers, cosplayers and more now play much larger roles in keeping game worlds alive.

“They build theories, alternative narratives, roleplay characters, live events, and create social moments that become part of the wider canon, whether we planned for it or not.”

Rather than there being a resistance to this, studios are increasingly recognising the value that community can bring. As audiences have changed and they themselves get involved, transmedia is being viewed as more than just a marketing tool, but as a core discipline. 

Harding explains how it's now about narrative design and that “studios are realising that expanding a universe across multiple mediums strengthens the core story rather than diluting it".

Beyond entertainment

When we talk about games and expanding beyond the industry, we often think of other entertainment fields, books, film, and TV, but its influence also extends into non-entertainment sectors.

Konvoy managing partner, Josh Chapman, points to the growing crossover between games and industries such as robotics, and artificial intelligence. 

"For robotics, the same tech stack that renders and animates game worlds now underpins digital twins, robot training, and control interfaces," says Chapman. "In AI, the training data within gaming has immense implications for other use cases outside of entertainment.” 

He adds: “The entertainment sector is a breeding ground for tech that is quickly leveraged in other industries."

Chapman notes that opportunities arise from the lucrative government contracts, but they also present challenges due to extended timelines. He also notes that AI applications are just getting started, and as for robotics, he expects that to be the next sector we see “ramp up” in the coming years.

A bigger transmedia future

Together, these perspectives point to a far broader shif of how transmedia can function between games and other entertainment mediums. How games technology is being applied is adapting, as is how audiences want to be involved with beloved IPs. 

These themes and more will be explored in depth at the Beyond Games: Transmedia Summit during Pocket Gamer Connects London, where leaders from games, film, TV, music and emerging technology will come together to discuss the implications of these shifts.