Netflix Goes All-in on Catan, With Live-Action and Animated Films and TV Series Planned

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Netflix is making various films and TV series based on Catan, the world-renowned multiplayer board game.

In Catan, players take on the roles of settlers who try to build and develop holdings while trading and acquiring resources. It carries the tagline: “Trade. Build. Settle.”

According to Variety, Netflix has secured the global rights to Catan, and plans to release various projects in both live-action and animation. There’s talk of film and scripted and unscripted TV. All projects will be produced by Darren Kyman from Asmodee (which recently split from Embracer), Pete Fenlon of Catan Studios, and Guido and Benjamin Teuber, the sons of Catan inventor Klaus Teuber.

Teuber first published The Settlers of Catan in Germany in 1995. It would go on to become one of the biggest board games ever, selling over 40 million copies. He died aged 70 in 2023.

Benjamin and Guido Teuber, co-CEOs of Catan GmbH, offered the following comment: “When our father Klaus Teuber first introduced Catan 30 years ago, he imagined an aspirational world where people would gather by trading, building and settling together — both at the table and beyond it. This collaboration with Netflix marks an exciting new chapter in that journey. For three decades, Catan has connected families and friends around the world. Now, we’re thrilled to see it inspire storytelling on a global stage — staying true to our father’s vision of creativity, strategy and human connection.”

There’s no release window for any Catan projects, nor any details on what those projects will be. But it’s clear Netflix sees huge value in projects based on board games and video games, following a string of successes. Indeed, Netflix struck a deal for the rights to Monopoly from Hasbro Entertainment earlier this year.

Photo by Marijan Murat/picture alliance via Getty Images.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.