Vince Gilligan, the creator of beloved crime drama series Breaking Bad: Criminal Elements mobile game let players become associates of Walt and Jesse back in 2019, Vince Gilligan reportedly had a much more expansive adaptation in mind.
The massive success and enduring legacy of Breaking Bad have transformed the show and its characters into pop culture icons. The end of Breaking Bad led into a prequel series titled Better Call Saul, co-created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, which follows criminal lawyer Saul Goodman and is set to conclude on August 15. Combined with the sequel film El Camino, the franchise has captured the hearts and minds of crime drama fans everywhere. Fan-made vdeo game tributes have led to Walter White popping up in games like Elden Ring and Animal Crossing, and a Walter White character concept for MultiVersus has become particularly popular among the crossover fighting game's fanbase.
As reported by ComicBook.com, a new episode of the "Inside the Gilliverse" podcast (via Music Gear Network) details attempts at creating a Breaking Bad video game. Series creator Vince Gilligan reveals that he pitched a Grand Theft Auto-style game early in the show's production, though it sadly never came to fruition. Multiple video game stories were apparently written by Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul producer Jenn Carroll, though Gilligan expresses that making a Breaking Bad video game was simply too hard to create. However, the creator does mention the mobile game Breaking Bad: Criminal Elements as a successful interactive adaptation of the franchise.
While Vince Gilligan's Breaking Bad video game never came to fruition, some fan-made GTA loading screen art inspired by Breaking Bad hints at what the project could have been. The impressive designs accurately transform Breaking Bad characters like Walter, Jesse, Hank and Skyler into the illustrated loading screens iconic of Rockstar Games' open-world crime franchise. Particularly notable pieces of loading screen concept art show Jesse Pinkman standing outside the famous RV lab, Walter White looming triumphantly near Tuco Salamanca's hideout and Gus Fring standing in front of his iconic Los Pollos Hermano restaurant.
Breaking Bad is considered one of the greatest television series of all time, and the show likely would have made an excellent open-world video game. By following the template of Grand Theft Auto the game could have let players explore Albuquerque, New Mexico while controlling iconic characters like Jesse, Gus and Heisenberg. While Vince Gilligan's concept never became a reality, mixing Breaking Bad into a video game seems like simple chemistry.
Source: ComicBook.com, Music Gear Network/YouTube
