Free Guy's "Free City" was not originally designed as a high-octane video game, but rather based on the stolen, organic code of a sophisticated AI project known as "Life Itself." The film's developers, led by director Shawn Levy and Digital Domain, transformed this, building upon a foundation of photorealistic Boston, and using a "kit" system to create the final game aesthetic [Digital Domain, IMDb]. Read the full details about the film's production on Digital Domain's YouTube channel, IMDb, and Creative Screenwriting.