Breaking Bad creator wanted to create a GTA-style game for series

Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul creator Vince Gilligan recently revealed that over the years, many video games about his smash hit franchise have been in the pipeline but ultimately, “never came to fruition.”

On the latest episode of the Inside The Gilliverse podcast, host Eric Broadbent was joined by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Two individuals who played big roles when it came to creating and producing the two hit shows Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.

Throughout the interview, Broadbent read out viewer questions to the two, with one fan asking, “will there ever be a Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul video game, something similar to GTA?”

Gilligan was quick to confess that over the years, “there have been quite a few attempts at video games.” He then discussed the types of games that were in development, revealing they were even working on dipping into the world of VR.

“Some of them kinda sort of made it to market,” he said. “We tried to do a VR experience with the Sony Playstation VR headset.” 

Furthermore, Gilligan highlighted how Jenn Carrol, one of the producers for Breaking Bad, had a big role to play in trying to get these video games up and running. 

“Jenn Carroll, she put a lot of energy and a lot of effort and a lot of talent into writing three or four different stories for three or four different video games including the VR thing. There were a lot of people hours poured into that. Making a video game is damn hard. What little I learned about it through this process, it literally takes years and millions of dollars. Especially when you’re trying to break new ground with VR and whatnot. Never quite came to fruition. It’s a shame.”

However, the Breaking Bad creator then reflected on how if one was to be created, it would have to maintain the same level of quality as the two hit shows, that they wouldn’t “just bank on the same” thing they had already done.

“It’s all about execution. So if you’re gonna do a video game you can’t just do the E.T. Atari video game version. You gotta make it great and the devil is in the details. Execution is everything and we just don’t have enough bandwidth to make it work.” 

When wrapping up the conversation, Gilligan did tell fans that the likelihood of a Breaking Bad game coming anytime soon is very slim, stating, “I wouldn’t hold your breath on a video game.”

However, for those who love the franchise, fear not. Better Call Saul’s final episodes are currently airing weekly on Stan. For all the latest news about the show, as well as Breaking Bad, check out Dexerto’s full coverage here.