If you haven’t seen Grand Theft Hamlet, you must. It is about two friends in the UK who found themselves unemployed during the COVID lockdowns. They play Grand Theft Auto Online together, and concluded that putting on an entire Shakespearean play in the live game was a good idea — and as it turns out, it was an even better idea for a documentary. Don’t worry, I am about to make a point here!
Once an Italian theatre director, Paolo Sacerdoti is making his own interpretation of a Shakespeare play. The difference? He is doing it with a video game instead of through a video game. (That means no randos popping up and killing your alien bodyguard, who falls from the sky. Phew.) Developed by Sacerdoti’s new company, Specto Studio, Hail Macbeth is heavily inspired by Sacerdoti’s past in the theatre (Canadian here, we spell the word ending with “re” rather than “er”). The game reimagines the relationship between player, character, and fate; it brings emotional and narrative depth to the play instead of dictating it. Every choice is meant to feel personal yet inevitable.
Sacerdoti isn’t working alone, though. He has a team of game industry veterans with multiple specialties who have worked on narrative-driven and cinematic titles such as Detroit: Become Human, Horizon Forbidden West, Hellblade 2, Alan Wake 2 and The Last of Us.
“Macbeth is the perfect intersection of action and introspection,” said Sacerdoti in a press release. “Its themes of fate and free will feel uniquely suited to an interactive experience. That tension between control and inevitability is what drives Hail Macbeth, making players complicit in a story they can’t change. I’ve always been drawn to video games for their ability to create deeply personal, immersive storytelling experiences. Coming from theater, I see Hail Macbeth as an opportunity to explore that potential—giving Shakespeare lovers a way to discover the power of interactive storytelling, and gamers a fresh way to engage with one of the greatest stories ever told.”
Hail Macbeth is set in an alternate version of the 1990s meant to feel modern and surreal. It isn’t historically accurate, choosing instead to reflect themes of ambition distorting reality and paranoia shaping perception. Sacerdoti treated the world as a stage to construct, a palace where every detail backs the narrative. The team of developers scanned real costumes and props to incorporate into the game as a storytelling tool.
Developed by Specto Studio, Hail Macbeth will be released for PC and unspecified consoles in Q1 2026.
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