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We discuss TV shows based on video games: from the failure of *Halo* to *Arkane* and *Fallout*
Video games are no longer considered “doomed” material for screen adaptations. While adaptations of gaming franchises were often the butt of jokes just a decade ago, today TV series based on games have become one of the major trends in the streaming industry. The success of *One of Us*, "Fallout," and "Arkane" has proven that game worlds are capable of not only attracting fans of the original source material but also finding a multi-million-strong audience among general viewers. As a result, the biggest platforms—from Netflix to Amazon and HBO—are literally competing for the rights to the most popular game universes.
What Makes an Adaptation Successful
Good game adaptations work not as retellings of the gameplay, but as standalone dramatic works. The creators of successful projects preserve the key themes, atmosphere, and characters of the original, but adapt the story to the specifics of the television format.
The involvement of game developers in production has become an equally important factor. For example, Neil Druckmann was one of the writers for the series *The Walking Dead*, and Riot Games actively oversaw the creation of *Arkane*. In addition, modern adaptations receive budgets comparable to those of major television hits, which allows for the high-quality adaptation of complex game worlds to the screen.
The Most Successful Series of Recent Years
"The Last of Us"
Action, Drama, Horror | 4.38 out of 5 on MyShows | 2 seasons | 2023–... | HBO
The HBO series is based on the game The Last of Us, developed by Naughty Dog for the Sony Interactive Entertainment console. The first part of the game was released on June 14, 2013, on PlayStation 3. Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley served as lead developers and creators of the project.
HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us has become one of the major television events of the decade. Critics have praised the script, the acting, and the faithful treatment of the source material, and the series has attracted not only fans of the game but also audiences previously unfamiliar with the franchise.
Add the series "The Last of Us" to your list
Arcane: League of Legends
Action, Adventure, Fantasy | 4.68 out of 5 on MyShows | 2 seasons | 2021–2024 | Netflix
The series is based on the universe of League of Legends—one of the most popular multiplayer online games in the world. The game was developed and published by Riot Games, founded in 2006. The first version of League of Legends was released on October 27, 2009, for PC. The game belongs to the MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) genre, in which two teams of players battle each other by controlling unique champion characters.
"Arcane" has transformed the game's universe into a standalone work of art. Based on the world of League of Legends, the Netflix animated series has received rave reviews thanks to its unique animation, strong characters, and high-quality storytelling. For many viewers, their introduction to the franchise began with the series, rather than the game itself.
Add the series "Arcane" to your list
"Fallout"
Action, Drama, Sci-Fi | 4.41 out of 5 on MyShows | 2 seasons | 2024–... | Amazon Prime
The original Fallout was created by Interplay Entertainment. The first game in the series was released on September 30, 1997, for PC. Since 2007, the rights to the franchise have belonged to Bethesda Softworks, which rebooted the series with the release of Fallout 3 in 2008 and turned it into one of the leading brands in the RPG genre.
The creators of the Amazon series chose not to retell the plot of any specific game in the series, but instead told a new story set within the familiar universe. This approach allowed them to satisfy longtime fans while also making the series accessible to newcomers.
Add the series "Fallout" to your list
"Cyberpunk: Edgerunners"
Action, Anime, Sci-Fi | 4.27 out of 5 on MyShows | Season 1 | 2022 | Netflix
The game was developed by the Polish studio CD Projekt Red. The entire universe is based on the tabletop RPG Cyberpunk 2020, created by designer Mike Pondsmith, who also contributed to the video game’s lore. Cyberpunk 2077 was released on December 10, 2020.
saved the franchise’s reputation. The anime based on Cyberpunk 2077 became one of Netflix’s most talked-about projects in 2022. Many viewers and critics noted that the series managed to reveal the world of Night City even better than the game itself did at the time of its release.
Add the series "Cyberpunk: Edgerunners" to your list
"Twisted Metal"
Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | 4.01 out of 5 on MyShows | 2 seasons | 2023–... | Peacock
Twisted Metal is a series of cult classic car combat games in which heavily armed drivers battle each other in arenas and on city streets. The original game was developed by SingleTrac and Sony Interactive Studios America for PlayStation. The first installment of Twisted Metal was released on November 5, 1995. The series quickly gained popularity thanks to its unusual combination of racing, action, and dark humor.
The series retains the franchise’s post-apocalyptic atmosphere and many familiar characters, including the iconic killer clown, but tells a new story created specifically for television. The creators focused on humor, action, and charismatic characters, which led to the series being renewed.
Add the series "Metal Gear" to your list
Why video games are still difficult to adapt
Despite the successes of recent years, adapting video games for the screen—even in animated format—remains one of the most difficult tasks for screenwriters. The main problem is that games and TV series use different methods to engage the audience. In a game, the player becomes a participant in the events and independently influences what happens. In a TV series, however, they become an observer. Therefore, a mechanical reproduction of the plot or game missions rarely works.
Additional difficulties arise from the vast amount of game lore, non-linear narratives, and fan expectations. Developers must strike a balance between respecting the original and the need to tell a story that a new audience can understand. It is at this stage that many adaptations run into problems.
The Most Notable TV Series Flops
Halo
Action, Sci-Fi | 3.91 out of 5 on MyShows | 2 seasons | 2022–2024 | Paramount+
Paramount+’s adaptation of the iconic shooter series had an impressive budget but received a mixed reaction from fans of the franchise. The main complaints centered on significant changes to the canon and controversial plot decisions. Despite the brand’s popularity, the series failed to become a long-term flagship for the platform.
Add the Halo series to your list
Resident Evil
Drama, Horror | 2.76 out of 5 on MyShows | Season 1 | 2022 | Netflix
The Netflix version attempted to combine elements of horror, teen drama, and family saga. As a result, the project was criticized by both game fans and general viewers and was canceled after the first season.
Add the series "Resident Evil" to your list
"Tekken: Bloodline"
Action, Anime, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | 3.54 out of 5 on MyShows | Season 1 | 2022 | Netflix
Despite the brand’s recognition, the series failed to reach beyond the franchise’s existing audience and quickly faded from the public eye after its release. The release of the Tekken series remained an event only for fans.
Add the series "Tekken: Bloodlines" to your list
What’s next?
The video game adaptation industry is entering a phase of rapid expansion: nearly every major game franchise has either already been adapted or is currently in development. Amazon continues to build its own “gaming universe”—following the success of “Fallout,” series based on God of War and Mass Effect are in production, and expansions into more classic RPG brands are being discussed. Netflix is simultaneously developing several projects, such as Assassin’s Creed and animated expansions of existing game worlds, while also increasing its focus on major game IPs through new agreements with publishers.
God of War
God of War is an action game series from Sony Santa Monica Studio that launched in 2005 and has become one of PlayStation’s key franchises. Originally, it was built around the antihero Kratos, a Spartan warrior who battles the gods of the ancient Greek pantheon; however, in the 2018 reboot, the series radically shifted its tone and mythological setting, moving to Norse mythology. The new arc focused on a more intimate and dramatic story of the relationship between Kratos and his son Atreus, transforming the game into an emotional adventure with a cinematic presentation.
The project at Amazon is being overseen by Ronald D. Moore(For All Mankind). The series is currently in the script development stage: the team is rethinking the approach to the story’s structure and focus following early versions of the project. There is no official release date, and industry insiders realistically estimate that a release is unlikely before 2027.
Add the God of War series to your list
Mass Effect
BioWare’s sci-fi RPG series was released in 2007. The games are set in the distant future, where humanity coexists with numerous alien civilizations within a vast galactic political system. The central figure of the original trilogy is Commander Shepard, an officer trying to prevent a threat capable of destroying the entire galaxy. One of the series’ key features is a system of moral and narrative choices that influence the story’s development and relationships between characters.
The adaptation is intended to be a standalone take on the universe, rather than a direct retelling of the games’ events. This means the series will not literally retell Shepard’s story but will focus on new storylines within the familiar world. Work is currently underway on the script and concept, but casting and filming have not yet begun. An official release date has not been announced either.
Add the Mass Effect series to your list
Assassin’s Creed
Assassin’s Creed is a series of action-adventure games from Ubisoft that launched in 2007 and has become one of the most recognizable gaming franchises in the world. The central premise revolves around the conflict between two secret organizations—the Assassins and the Templars—who are waging a hidden war for control over humanity’s future. A key feature of the series is the concept of the “Animus”: a device that allows users to experience the genetic memories of their ancestors. Thanks to this, each game transports the player to different historical eras—from the Crusades and the Renaissance to Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and the Viking Age.
A television adaptation of Assassin’s Creed was announced back in 2020 as part of a strategic partnership, but the project spent a long time in development as the creative team was rebooted and restructured. The series is now in active production: filming is taking place in Italy. The action is set in Ancient Rome (around the 1st century AD, during Nero’s reign), making the project a completely original story within the universe rather than an adaptation of a specific game. The series is expected to premiere in late 2026, though an exact date has not yet been announced and depends on the post-production schedule.
Add the series "Assassin's Creed" to your list
The trend is shifting from standalone adaptations toward building long-term franchises: streaming services are ordering multiple seasons at once even before the premiere and laying the groundwork for expanded story arcs. The animation genre is also being developed separately; following the success of "Arkane," it has come to be seen as a more flexible format for complex game universes.
Today, the industry is gradually coming to understand that a successful game adaptation requires not a literal reproduction of the original, but a reimagining of its strengths for the new format. Judging by the number of projects in development, the golden age of video game adaptations is just beginning. However, the experience of recent years shows that a big-name title alone no longer guarantees success.
Which game adaptation are you most looking forward to? And who should play the lead role in it? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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Of course, you can't compare a simple viewing of an "outsider" and a character you control, but there's practically enough to explore the game universe of the series.
The conclusion is simple: you need to start playing in order to grumble at every frame. 😂
Well, you certainly have contradictory statements in the news, you like to sketch.
I never played in tLoU, but from what I read, even here in the comments, there were complaints about the first season, which is closer to the first part than the second season, and there were questions about the acting, the cast, and the film adaptation in general. Now I would like to rely on the opinions of critics in 2k26.
When did this happen? The Poles ruined their own reputation, and then they themselves methodically brought it back with all sorts of patches, updates and the "Phantom Freedom" supplement. The anime here only reveals the universe and the city, for which thank you. It has a great story and a great OST.
Answering the questions at the end, I don't expect anything, so as not to be disappointed and not to make excessive expectations. Most likely, I'll take a look at all three of the listed ones - God of War, Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, despite the fact that I didn't really play the last two and dropped them in the first parts. However, the series do not become less interesting. Thanks for the links, I added them to myself.
It's a pity that the news only covers TV series. There were also interesting examples of successful and failed films among the movies. I liked "The Sands of Time", "Anchored", "Five Nights at Freddy's" (I really haven't seen the second part), and "Assassin's Creed", for example, is a rare poorly filmed despondency.
We also collectively hated director Uwe Boll for making bad films based on games, but needless to say, none of us had seen any of this Uwe Boll's films, we just told each other contemptuous theses from the game world.
And now our generation has grown up and become solvent, now 2-3 game adaptations are released per year. It's a shame, though, that those who make these films and TV series themselves are probably not particularly familiar with the original sources, and it often turns out to be some kind of rubbish.
The first season of "Fallout" was good, at least the creators had fun playing around with the game conventions of the universe) I would also add "The Witcher" to the article, even if it is technically a book adaptation, but who would know about Pan Sapkovsky if it were not for the three role-playing games in his universe. Although Netflix came out as Netflix, the three seasons with Henry Cavill were basically bearable. Not really as a TV series, but as a series based on your favorite franchise, why not.
Of the successful game films of recent years, I can only single out Minecraft. I didn't watch it myself because I didn't play, but I heard more than one laudatory review from friends whose children went to it.
And the Polish TV series came out before the games, back in 2001-2002, right. But here's the thing - translations of the Witcher into English began after the first part of the game was released all over the world, including the USA. Pan owes his worldwide success and popularity to the game, although he does not like to admit it.
@Hidji: I think the phrase meant global popularity, at least that's how I perceived it. But maybe gambini_spb meant something else.
I watched the Netflix series itself, and the second season is the worst, I think. Maybe the third one will be better and closer to the original, but fewer people got to it in the end.
Personally, I'm curious to see what happens with Mass Effect, although I don't have particularly high expectations. And it seems like something should come out of Death Stranding, the universe is very interesting there, so maybe something will turn out well.
. The main thing for me is that everything else opens everywhere and doesn't hang (although there are technical chocolates).
There will always be dissatisfied people anyway.
In the last month or two, they've been posting a bunch of Thai LGBT content here, but for some reason the titles are blocked.
Halo failed even despite the excellent performance of the main character. Just because they started to drive a lot of crap, broke the "backbone" of the entire series about how Spartans appear in general when they began to rivet them for two-week courses in the second season, and, most importantly, changed the motivation of the main characters, without even replacing it with anything.
Fallout also deviated a little from the canon, but retained its spirit, and in the second season even began to close the "holes" of the first about the absence of death claws and super mutants.
The success of "The Last of Us" is very controversial. Many players didn't like him even from the first season, and the second one turned into trash. Yes, he went into another, non-gaming audience, which is generally about the agenda. But that's not because it's about the game, but because it's about the agenda. But at least it was in the game itself.
Without negativity towards the author.
I liked Heilo quite a lot, more because of Pablo)
Yes, tlou and fallout come to me)
I agree to watch everything else that is screened there too)))
The main thing is not to have Leopold the cat in the restart)
so, of course, I want to see many projects in the movie-serial version, because there are a lot of worthy stories in the games too. but again, you won't please everyone, and there will be angry shouts that everything is wrong.. eh
Anyway, we're waiting for everything that really comes out, and then we'll figure it out.
I would love to see some new adaptation of the Prince of Persia. But it's probably such a dense dust that they don't even remember.
I'm waiting for the series on Assassins and the second season of "Edge Runner"
It's a pity that Resident Evil failed, I'm probably one of the few who liked the series)
It's not worse than the movies, in my opinion.
It's also great that Splinter Cell was filmed as an anime, ideally it would have been better to have a movie or a TV series, well, let there be at least a cartoon. The main thing is that the franchise is not forgotten, and then we'll see if someone will ever get around to it. And that's not what they pulled out of oblivion))
I wouldn't mind the film adaptations of Half-Life, Syphon Filter and Medal of Honor: Underground, but maybe I want too much.
In general, there used to be a lot of cool games, but unfortunately, not all of them should and can be presented on a large or small screen. Still, sometimes classics should not be touched, so that they remain the same masterpiece as they were in the year they were released on PC or consoles...
Diablo would also be good, probably.
But there are doubts about the assassins, yubisoft themselves are clearly a little confused in the plot.
At least some already, otherwise the fans are only happy with the videos on youtube))
BioShock is a dark noir Art Deco thriller about the underwater city of Rapture. Anya Taylor-Joy would be perfect for the role of Bridget Tenenbaum.
BioShock Infinite is a large-scale steampunk fiction about the flying city of Columbia. Josh Brolin would look great as Booker Dewitt.
Watch Dogs is a tense techno-thriller about total surveillance, hacking of systems and digital control of society. In the role of Aiden Pearce, of course, Tom Cruise.
Half-Life is a dark dystopia about City 17 and the invasion of the Alliance. And in the role of Gordon Freeman, of course, Danila Kozlovsky — he even has a beard like 😅
I would definitely go to the cinema on the day of the premiere for such film adaptations. 🎥🍿
If, on the contrary, you play and then watch, then probably yes, it will be much better.
But the fallout was really cool. Both the Games and the series are great
And before that, I really wanted to see the film adaptation Until Down (which I was able to go through to the end), but as soon as I started, I already realized what a diamond cinema had fucked up.
And after these two cases, I sometimes think: perhaps it's too early for the film adaptations of some games to come true, because the technology or minds that can qualitatively transfer the plot of the game to the screens have not matured.
although many people seemed to like it, in particular those who did not play🥲
Well, the LiS series seems to be just starting filming in the summer. Amazon is threatening to issue a banknote there, it remains to wait.
especially since Amazon seems to be serious about game adaptations)
Well, at least for that
The main character caused me the greatest cringe... in everything
The score here is 4.26, by the way
Like the film adaptation of something, if it can be watched separately, then I'm watching, if not, then it's a bad product.
When they answer my questions here on the site in the comments, but in the book / game / manga (well, I think you get it), then this is a bad series.
From the collection, Arkane and some of us watched
I liked the first one, I dropped the second one in the second season
The main thing is, don't look at any rutube, there are a lot of cut scenes.
He looks pretty ridiculous right now. 😅
1 - to be familiar with the original source, and not like the creators of the Witcher, for example
2 - understand what exactly hooked the audience in the original source and keep it that way.
But for some reason, even point 1 is very often violated, I'm already silent about the second one. With the mass effect, there will be point 2, the story of Shepard and the reapers was a mass effect, and all sorts of visers in the universe will remain the same. It would be fun for spin-offs, but not for the series base.
The difference with fallout, for example, is that Fallout caught on exactly with the atmosphere of a freak post-up + some crazy situations, and therefore it was possible to come up with an original story for it (by the way, the creators of the series felt the fallout better than the same Conversation). That's how the mass effect won: "one person tries to resist the inevitable, convincing everyone that the threat is real. Going through politics, distrust, and idiotic synapsis." And if this is not going to be in the series, then it will be decorative flights in space in the next cosmic universe.