Prime Video’s adaptation of Fallout is a stunning example of how to translate a beloved video game universe to television. Instead of retelling a story players already knew, the series forged a new path, introducing original characters and a fresh storyline that remained completely faithful to the games’ expansive and often quirky lore. The show successfully captured the distinct tone of Fallout‘s post-apocalyptic world, blending dark humor, brutal violence, and an underlying tragedy that has defined the franchise for decades. With the Fallout Season 2 trailer already teasing a deeper exploration of the series’ biggest mysteries, including the origins of the Great War that created the wastelands, it is clear that the producers understand that the rich history of the world is the main draw.
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There was a time when video game adaptations were considered a risky, often doomed, proposition in Hollywood. That era is definitely over, with series like HBO’s The Last of Us and Netflix’s Castlevania earning both critical acclaim and massive audiences. More than that, studios are discovering the potential to use television to expand on the source material rather than simply repeat it. Shows like Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Splinter Cell are designed to add new chapters to their respective universes, building out the world’s lore for existing fans while offering a perfect entry point for newcomers. Yet, there are still countless gaming franchises with decades of world-building and narrative depth that remain untapped, even though they desperately need a TV adaptation.
4) Deus Ex
The Deus Ex franchise consists of six main installments that tell a story of near-future humanity grappling with the social and ethical consequences of human augmentation. The games are cyberpunk-themed role-playing games where players take on the role of augmented agents like JC Denton and Adam Jensen, navigating a world rife with global conspiracies run by secret societies like the Illuminati. The series’s lore is incredibly expansive due to its deep alternate-history timeline, which charts the rise of powerful corporations and the geopolitical shifts caused by the new technology. This history is primarily fleshed out through countless in-game emails, text logs, and environmental details that create a believable world of corporate espionage and social decay. A film adaptation of Deux Ex has been stuck in development hell for over a decade, with multiple scripts and directors attached over the years, but it has never managed to get into production. That’s a good sign that perhaps a TV adaptation would do the franchise more justice.
3) Metal Gear
Spanning more than a dozen titles since its debut in 1987, the Metal Gear franchise is a stealth-action series focused on the exploits of legendary soldiers Big Boss and Solid Snake. Its central narrative revolves around their repeated attempts to stop the proliferation of Metal Gears, which are bipedal, nuclear-armed tanks. The lore of Metal Gear is famous for its complexity, covering over decades of a meticulously detailed alternate history that begins in the Cold War and extends into the near future. Its world is built on the secret history of a shadow organization known as The Patriots, who have been manipulating global events for a century. The sheer volume of backstory, delivered through famously long cutscenes and radio conversations, has created one of the most intricate and debated narratives in gaming. A Metal Gear film adaptation has been in the works for years, though the project has yet to begin filming. A TV show could complement this movie, if it ever gets made.
2) Dark Souls
The Dark Souls trilogy is a series of notoriously difficult action-RPGs set in a dying fantasy world trapped in a cycle of decay. The games are about the curse of the Undead and the player’s quest to either link the First Flame to prolong the Age of Fire or allow it to fade and usher in an Age of Dark. The franchise’s lore is expansive in a unique way. Instead of using cutscenes, the deep history of its world is told in fragments. Players must piece together the story of fallen gods and corrupted kingdoms by reading the descriptions of thousands of items, weapons, and armor pieces. This unconventional method has fostered a massive community of fans dedicated to interpreting the subtle clues and constructing the complete history of Lordran and its surrounding lands. While several Dark Souls comic series have been published, no official film or television adaptation has ever been made. Adapting this subtle narrative style would be a challenge, but it also presents a unique opportunity to create a truly distinct dark fantasy series.
1) The Elder Scrolls
With five core installments, a massively popular online counterpart, and a sixth mainline game in development, The Elder Scrolls is the benchmark for open-world fantasy RPGs. Each game places the player in a different region of the continent of Tamriel, a world populated by a dozen distinct and playable races. The lore of The Elder Scrolls is arguably the most extensive in all of gaming, spanning thousands of years of history across multiple eras. Its depth is primarily due to the hundreds of in-game books that players can find and read, covering everything from world history and mythology to biographies and poetry. This creates an unparalleled sense of a lived-in world, with complex political systems, warring factions, and a cosmic struggle between godlike beings known as the Aedra and Daedra. Despite its immense popularity and decades of fan requests, no official television or film adaptation of The Elder Scrolls has ever been produced.
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