The Matrix 5 is officially happening, and while that could be exciting, I’m still left wanting one thing: a new Matrix game. However, if we’re going back to the world of Mega City and IO, I don’t need to don black sunglasses and overcoats as Keanu Reeves‘ Neo or Carrie-Anne Moss’ Trinity. It’s time to forge our own adventures again.
You see, The Matrix Resurrections was the perfect epilogue to the original trilogy, letting Lana Wachowski see the franchise off on her own terms. Easily one of the most important blockbusters of the decade, Resurrections deconstructed our relationship with legacy sequels, and with The Matrix franchise itself. All while weaving a beautiful message of reclamation and the franchise’s strongest long-running thread: the power of love. To continue this in another movie is no easy feat, especially one where Lana Wachowski prophesied that Warner Brothers would do it without her. But a new PS5 game or new Xbox game is a different situation.
There was a brief spark with the open world game tech demo The Matrix Awakens that surprise dropped in 2021 ahead of Resurrections’ release, but that spark was quickly stamped out. It was a glimpse into something bigger, grander. A brief snippet of what The Matrix could be, it was revolutionized as a contender to join the best PS5 games around. Built on Unreal Engine 5, it seems like a waste to go to such big lengths to re-create Matrix iconography and more in Awakens for it to dwindle away.
Resurrections also utilizes Unreal Engine 5’s power, specifically in scenes like the Dojo fight between a newly ‘reborn’ Neo and an AI version of Morpheus. Replicating the Wachowski Sisters’ cinematic language and legacy will be tough for Drew Goddard, even with Lana onboard in an executive producer capacity. However, it isn’t the first time that other creative minds have tackled the property. The Animatrix and The Matrix Comics forge new stories in the universe, going as far back as to establish just how the Machine War began. That’s what a new Matrix game needs to focus on.
Now that Neo and Trinity have flown away into the sunset, I’m ready to let their story unfold off-screen, and a new chapter begin. Enter The Matrix, even with all its charming jankiness, proved that this can be interesting. Sure, it had the benefit of the Wachowski’s shooting entirely new footage to accompany it, but the intertwining stories of Ghost and Niobe fleshed out areas of the universe otherwise unseen. It also deepened my appreciation of The Matrix Reloaded, notably the all-timer highway action sequence. Seriously, just distill the song Mona Lisa Overdrive and let me consume it.
We’ve already seen Neo’s journey expanded upon too, thanks to one of the best games of my childhood, The Matrix Path of Neo. The Wachowski’s are acutely aware of how the franchise is perceived, going as far as to lovingly poke fun at The Matrix Revolution’s lofty thematic messages in Path of Neo’s re-imagined version of the movie’s climax. It does feel conflicting to want more from this franchise, given that Resurrections completely mocks that notion in the same fell swoop as reminding us why we love The Matrix in the first place.
If the uncompromising vision seen in Resurrections can be applied to a videogame, then I believe it’d be something truly special. There’s no reason why a new Matrix game shouldn’t be talked about in the same vein as the best Xbox games or PS5 titles like Red Dead Redemption 2, Ghost of Tsushima, or The Last of Us when it comes to a thrilling narrative.
There might be hope yet, though. Prolific leaker ‘Kurakasis’ claims that NetEase Games has been working on a Matrix game since the release of Resurrections. Reportedly in the works under the codename ‘Awake’, it is currently unknown if it is still in development. NetEase Games, typically known for popular multiplayer games like Naraka Bladepoint, also patterned recently with Call of Duty veteran David Vonderhaar to open up a new studio.
Vonderhaar is working on an original concept, however. Yet, the thought of talent that worked on mind-bending COD entries, like Black Ops, certainly has me reaching for my tin-foil hat and theorizing — even if it does pre-date the studio’s formation.
Nevertheless, I’m cautiously optimistic to see what the franchise holds. Hopefully, the Wachowski Sisters have more input than initially reported on The Matrix 5, and I hope that’d be the same if a new Matrix game takes us back down the rabbit hole.
Elsewhere in gaming news, your first look at the next Call of Duty game may happen during this Xbox Showcase, and viral co-op horror game Content Warning could be head to consoles.