When Breaking Bad’s first season released, it received generally good reviews, but every season thereafter received unanimous critical acclaim. It’s easily one of the most popular crime dramas on TV, with many going so far as to say that it is one of the greatest TV series of all time. Indeed, its popularity saw a movie, El Camino, release after its final season, and another spin-off series called Better Call Saul is currently airing its last season—with similar rave views as Breaking Bad.
Unfortunately, the gaming space isn’t somewhere Breaking Bad has quite made a name for itself. There was a mobile game, but nothing like a AAA game set in the Breaking Bad universe. It’s an enticing, if likely complicated, proposition, with YouTuber Teaserplay recently using Unreal Engine 5 tech to envision an open-world Breaking Bad game.
The YouTuber also used Metahuman to recreate characters like Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, a technology first demonstrated in the Matrix Unreal Engine 5 demo. Truth be told, it creates an eerie uncanny valley feeling here, and it does capture Walter White better than Jesse Pinkman. Nonetheless, the fan-made trailer shows off ray-tracing, screen-space reflections, and Lumen and Nanite Technology in its recreation of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In this trailer, fans are treated to scenes of Walter White approaching drug deals, driving on and off-road in their iconic RV, and more. There are iconic lines from the TV series included too, including the “I am the danger…I am the one who knocks” line that struck fear into Skyler White. It’s really hard to imagine how action could be implemented in such a game, though the trailer does show one vehicle explosion, but the idea of walking around Albuquerque as Walter White is enticing, nonetheless.
Many of the comments in the video, outside the face animations, shared their excitement at the idea. There are plenty of Unreal Engine 5 videos out there—this is not the most impressive, admittedly—but the idea alone is enough for many fans of the franchise/those in the comments. Making choices, overcoming other drug lords like Gus Fring, and building Heisenberg’s empire would no doubt make for an interesting game.
Of course, there is no currently announced AAA Breaking Bad game in development. However, with Better Call Saul wrapping up with season 6, who knows what the future of the franchise holds.
Better Call Saul season 6 is airing now.