Back in 2018, writer Dave Cook and artist Craig Paton debuted Killtopia, a delightfully over-the-top violent comic that takes place in a futuristic Japanese mega-city where pop culture is taken to the extreme. The first three volumes of the comic were successfully funded on Kickstarter and the series has gone on to receive widespread critical acclaim for it’s gritty action, beautiful art, and it’s unique video game and anime-inspired plot.
Now, US studio Voltaku is going to adapt the comic series into an animated TV show, powered by Epic’s Unreal Engine. The series is planned to consist of eight twenty-minute episodes to bring the chaotic dystopia of Killtopia to life on the screen.
When Killtopia launches, it’s going to look like nothing that’s been seen on TV before. Our world is garish and vibrant, where hype, fandom and pop culture rule the day, which is the perfect launching pad for big stories. I’ve always wanted to see something so colourful and abstract depicted in a 3D world. With Voltaku’s help, I think we’re going to blow people away.
-Dave Cook, BHP Comics Press Release
To get the Killtopia animated series started, Voltaku received an Epic Megagrant from Epic Games to get the project going. The Megagrant program was put into place by Epic Games to help give aspiring game developers, media creators, and startups funding to get their projects off the ground utilizing the company’s Unreal Engine.
Of course, considering the fact that the series is going to be created in Unreal Engine, we have to wonder if there is the possibility of Killtopia becoming a video game at some point. It seems entirely possible. Given Cook’s background as a games writer and Killtopia’s penchant for wearing its video game influences on its sleeve, it wouldn’t surprise us if this is something that is planned further down the pipeline. It certainly is one step closer in that direction and that’s pretty exciting in our opinion.
We’ll have more info on this series as it develops. And keep an eye out for our much-overdue reviews of Killtopia volumes 1-3 coming to the site soon.
