Google reportedly turning Web game into TV show

Google's Ingress involves players going to different real-world landmarks. The search giant is reportedly developing a TV show based on the game.Google

Google already makes the software that powers some televisions. Now it wants to make some of the content that shows up on TV.

The search giant is reportedly developing a TV show based on Ingress, a game created by Google's Niantic Labs gaming studio, according to The Information.

Ingress is a game that involves players going to various real world landmarks -- like a public sculpture or a sign -- and "capturing" it for their team by using various commands on their smartphones.

The game has been downloaded more than 5 million times for devices that run Google's Android operating system. It debuted last year for Apple's iPhone. There is a major social component to the game, with players holding meet ups to play. (There's one in Pasadena, Calif., on Saturday.)

Google is working with Scott Daniel Co., the producer behind the "Mummy" franchise, to make the show. So far, Google hasn't pitched the show to TV networks, according to The Information.

Google did not respond to a request for comment.

Across the technology industry, from Amazon to Microsoft, the lines have blurred between Hollywood and tech giants. Microsoft's Xbox Studios was devoted exclusively to developing shows based on Xbox games. The studio produced the miniseries "Halo: Nightfall," based on the popular shooting game, in 2014. Microsoft shuttered Xbox studios in July, before the show debuted.

But while Google is reportedly developing an Ingress show, this isn't a signal that the company is trying to be a major TV player, like Amazon or Netflix, according to The Information. Instead, Google views the TV show as another layer of the game, which would influence the way people play it.