Bryan Cranston’s Breaking Bad Deserves its Own Game That Can Take Major Inspiration from a Critically Acclaimed Zombie Game (It’s Not The Last of Us)

It’s been nearly a decade since Breaking Bad, the groundbreaking AMC series starring Bryan Cranston as Walter White, took its final bow. Yet, the show’s impact on popular culture remains as strong as ever. From the enduring popularity of its spin-off, Better Call Saul, to the countless memes and references that still circulate online, it’s clear that Vince Gilligan’s masterpiece has left an indelible mark on the zeitgeist.

But there’s one area where Breaking Bad‘s legacy remains curiously untapped: video games. Despite the show’s rich world, complex characters, and thrilling storylines, there has yet to be a truly successful attempt at adapting it into an interactive medium.

The Case for a Breaking Bad Video Game

On the surface, Breaking Bad might not seem like the most obvious choice for a video game adaptation. After all, the show is known for its slow-burn pacing, intricate character development, and moral ambiguity—qualities that don’t always translate well to the fast-paced, action-oriented world of gaming.

But what if there was a way to capture the essence of the show in a game without sacrificing its depth and nuance? Enter Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead, the critically acclaimed series that proved that zombie games could be more than just mindless gore and jump scares.

Like a potential Breaking Bad game, The Walking Dead (2012) also came after a popular AMC series. But rather than trying to recreate the show or the source comic book series’s plot beat-for-beat, Telltale took a different approach. They created an original story set within the same universe, focusing on a new group of characters facing the same horrific circumstances.

The result was a game that felt true to the spirit of the franchise while still offering something fresh and unexpected. Players were forced to make tough choices that had real consequences, shaping the story and their relationships with other characters. It was a formula that proved hugely successful, earning the game numerous accolades and cementing Telltale’s reputation as masters of the episodic adventure genre.

The Walking Dead Formula for Breaking Bad

A Breaking Bad game could take a similar approach as Telltale Games‘ magnum opus—adopting an episodic structure and telling an original story set within the show’s universe. This would allow for the kind of slow-burn storytelling that made the show so compelling, while still providing regular doses of excitement and cliffhangers to keep players hooked.

But, rather than retreading the same ground as the series, it could explore new characters and storylines that expand upon the world Gilligan and his team created.

For example, what about a game that puts players in the shoes of Gustavo Fring, the enigmatic and ruthless drug kingpin played by Giancarlo Esposito? Unlike Saul Goodman, Fring has yet to receive his own spin-off series, leaving much of his backstory and motivations untapped. A game could explore his rise to power, his rivalry with the cartel, and the events that led him to become the formidable adversary we know from the show.

Alternatively, a Breaking Bad game could focus on an entirely new character, perhaps someone on the fringes of the drug trade who gets pulled into the orbit of Bryan Cranston‘s Walter White and Aaron Paul‘s Jesse Pinkman. This could allow for a fresh perspective on the show’s events, while still providing plenty of opportunities for cameos and references that fans would appreciate.

Of course, any game set in this universe would need to have the involvement of key creative figures like Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Their unique vision and storytelling prowess would be essential in ensuring that the game feels authentic to the show’s universe.

Gilligan himself has expressed interest in the idea of a Breaking Bad game, even pitching (video below) a Grand Theft Auto-style adaptation at one point. While that particular concept never came to fruition, it’s clear that there’s still plenty of untapped potential in the idea.

With the right team, budget, and creative vision, a Breaking Bad game could be a landmark moment for both the series and the gaming industry as a whole. It could prove once and for all that video games are capable of telling complex, mature stories that rival the best of film and television.

What do you think? Would you play a Breaking Bad game inspired by The Walking Dead? What kind of story and characters would you like to see explored? Let us know in the comments below!