Hit videogame Halo gets TV drama series adaptation

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - International hit military science fiction videogame Halo is coming to television in the form of a scripted drama series, cable channel Showtime said on Thursday.

The 10-episode series, based on the best-selling Xbox franchise, will dramatize a 26th-century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant, as well as weaving personal stories with action and adventure, Showtime said in a statement.

Halo, a first-person shooter game developed for Microsoft Corp's Xbox in 2001, has grown into a global phenomenon, selling more than 77 million copies worldwide and grossing more than $5 billion in sales. It has already spurred spinoff novels, graphic novels and toys.

Showtime Chief Executive David Nevins described Halo as the network's "most ambitious series ever."

"HALO will enthrall fans of the game while also drawing the uninitiated into a world of complex characters that populate this unique universe," he added in a statement.

Production on the new series will start in 2019 but Showtime, a unit of CBS, did not give an expected date for its television release.

Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television will co-produce with Microsoft videogame unit 343 Industries.

The $36 billion U.S. videogame industry has proved fertile ground for television and movies in the past, including big screen versions of "Lara Croft Tomb Raider," "Assassins Creed" and "Warcraft."

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Paul Simao)