After Pluribus, It’s Time For Vince Gilligan To Write An Original Video Game
Image via EW
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Vince Gilligan’s new hit Apple TV+ series, Pluribus, has taken the world by storm, and is quickly becoming the most talked about TV show of 2025. The show’s success shines a light on Gilligan’s capacity to create fully realized worlds in his work, a key element in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul’s success as well. Interestingly, while Gilligan has entertained the thought of creating a video game set in one of his universes in the past, it’s a bit surprising he’s never mentioned writing a completely original game.
Gilligan’s writing features immersive world-building and nuanced character development that …
After Pluribus, It’s Time For Vince Gilligan To Write An Original Video Game
Image via EW
Sign in to your ScreenRant account
Vince Gilligan’s new hit Apple TV+ series, Pluribus, has taken the world by storm, and is quickly becoming the most talked about TV show of 2025. The show’s success shines a light on Gilligan’s capacity to create fully realized worlds in his work, a key element in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul’s success as well. Interestingly, while Gilligan has entertained the thought of creating a video game set in one of his universes in the past, it’s a bit surprising he’s never mentioned writing a completely original game.
Gilligan’s writing features immersive world-building and nuanced character development that would translate incredibly well in a video game context, and believe it or not, it’s not completely implausible for him to shift gears to an original video game project after Pluribus eventually wraps up. He once floated the idea of a GTA-style Breaking Bad game, and while that never came to fruition, I’d love to see what Gilligan could come up with if he had a blank open-world canvas to create whatever game he wanted.
Gilligan’s Sci-Fi Chops Make It Clear He’s Got Loads More To Offer
Vince Gilligan’s collective works are rooted in powerful storytelling and unmatched character development, not to mention fully realized fictional worlds that feel as real as our own. With easily some of the most popular and unique shows in modern television history under his belt already in the Breaking Bad universe, Gilligan has broadened his horizons even further now with Pluribus,** proving he has sci-fi chops to boot. **
The dark humor and creepy suspense at play in *Pluribus *taps into a new vein that many Gilligan fans weren’t expecting, and the tone of the show has me convinced that Gilligan needs to take a swing at his own narrative-based and character-driven video game. While I don’t think a video game in an existing Gilligan-verse setting would necessarily work, developing a completely new IP based on a fresh Gilligan story would no doubt be hugely popular, and would come with far fewer limitations.
The video game medium offers avenues for dynamic storytelling that simply can’t be explored in a television series, such as branching narratives, reactive characters and worlds, etc. There’s vast potential for Gilligan to experiment with role-playing elements, world-building, and to do so **in any genre/style that he wants. **
A Vince Gilligan Video Game May Never Happen
The Breaking Bad Video Game Likely Wouldn’t Have Worked Anyway
Vince Gilligan is a prolific writer, but up to this point he has not officially dabbled in the video game world. Whether the aforementioned Breaking Bad game would have been successful is up for debate, though I have trouble seeing how it would differentiate itself enough from the show to make much of an impact. I also think that a GTA-style game, while maybe befitting the Breaking Bad universe, isn’t necessarily the best style of game for a Gilligan IP, especially after seeing what’s possible with Pluribus.
Ultimately, while a video game by Vince Gilligan isn’t very likely to happen anytime soon (or ever), if it ever did, it would definitely need to be a completely original concept and world, with brand-new characters and an authentic, fresh setting. Recycling old Gilligan IPs wouldn’t work, especially with the Breaking Bad universe being wrapped up nicely with Better Call Saul’s finale.
Similarly, a ***Pluribus ***video game adaptation wouldn’t really work either, especially with it being so focused on a singular, iconic character played by Rhea Seehorn. However, Seehorn’s character is the perfect example of how Gilligan could easily give us an enigmatic protagonist for a video game. Beloved protagonists such as Walter White or Saul Goodman have become such huge staples in the zeitgeist that there’s no question a video game protagonist from Gilligan would do the same.
Pluribus
8*/10*
Release Date November 6, 2025
Network Apple TV
Carol Sturka
Karolina Wydra
Zosia

