By the time you meet John Wick, the hard part is already done. He’s working for Viggo Tarasov, and his name alone is enough to rattle hardened criminals. The legend shows up fully formed, and nobody ever shows you how it was built.
That’s about to change. Saber Interactive’s untitled John Wick game is officially set years before the Impossible Task, back when Wick was still an active assassin and not yet the retired killer from the original film. If you’ve always wanted the missing chapter, this is the closest the franchise has come to giving it to you.
The gap the movies keep skipping
The films have handed out pieces of his past in small portions. You know Jardani Jovonovich is Belarusian. You know he was raised and trained by the Ruska Roma, and you know that training was brutal. Somewhere between that and the man Viggo hired, he became one of the most feared assassins in the underworld.
The space between those two points is still mostly blank. His earliest assignments, the origins of many of his underworld relationships and the moment he took on the John Wick name have barely been touched. The same goes for the specific events that turned him into the Baba Yaga. Even the Impossible Task, the franchise’s most famous piece of backstory, only gives you a glimpse of the killer he became.
So the open questions pile up. When did other assassins start calling him Baba Yaga? Which jobs built a reputation that borders on myth? How did he get close to the major figures of the criminal underworld, and where did he stand in that world before he decided he wanted out?
A new chapter, with old faces and new ones
Saber says its original story will expand the franchise’s lore with familiar characters and brand-new ones. That makes this a lot more than a throwaway side story. The studio describes it as a new chapter within the existing John Wick timeline, and it’s developing the game alongside Lionsgate, franchise director Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves.
The “rewrite” here doesn’t have to mean overwriting anything you’ve seen on screen. The more likely outcome is that years of scattered hints finally get stitched into one complete narrative. Wick’s past has been kept vague on purpose. This game could pin it down with hard details, showing you the events that turned a talented hitman into the Baba Yaga everyone already fears when the movies begin.
Gun-fu, cars and Keanu
If you played 2019’s John Wick Hex, forget about the tactical, plan-your-turn approach. Saber is pitching this one as a AAA, single-player, third-person action game built around Wick’s signature gun-fu. That means firearms mixed with close-quarters combat, cinematic camerawork, atmospheric environments and intense driving sequences.
The goal is to capture the rhythm and choreography of the films while you’re the one in control of the Baba Yaga. Reeves is providing Wick’s likeness, voice and more. Stahelski is collaborating on the production.
Don’t circle a date yet
Here’s where you’ll need patience. Saber still lists the game as TBA, with no confirmed release year and certainly no specific date. Early industry estimates put a possible launch somewhere in 2027 or 2028, mostly because the project looked so early in development when it was revealed.
More recently, Saber chief business officer Steve Allison brought up John Wick while discussing the slate the company is putting together for 2028. Saber later clarified that Allison was speaking broadly and wasn’t announcing an official release target, so 2028 isn’t confirmed.
It’s still the best hint anyone has about when Wick’s next game might show up. For now, the platforms are locked even if the calendar isn’t: PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Somewhere in those unseen years, a Belarusian kid trained by the Ruska Roma turned into a name that makes grown killers go quiet. Saber wants to hand you the controller for that part.
