“This is a story about being a teenager in the parallel world of social media and online gaming which is increasingly challenging reality,” says director Erik Leijonborg. “A world where you can hide your real identity and be appreciated for who you really are, or be exposed and mistreated.”

The film’s main character, Elias, is played by Valter Skarsgård, son of Hollywood heavyweight Stellan Skarsgård, who is known from films such as Good Will Hunting, The Avengers and Thor.

Elias, a victim of bullying at school, routinely escapes to TSW‘s secret universe. Here, he meets a girl named Scarlet, and the audience gets to see the two of them visit in-game locations. They eventually agree to meet in real life.

TSW footage is used extensively throughout the movie. “More so than any other massively multiplayer game out there, telling captivating stories with an emotional tie has always been an important part of The Secret World,” says Joel Bylos, Creative Director at Funcom. “Making our online world available to the filmmakers, so that they could use it to tell their story, has been an exciting experience and I think the end result is absolutely fantastic. The entire team is very proud seeing the game up there on the big screen!”

The film will premiere in Sweden on October 25th 2013.