Video games are taking the TV and film world by storm at the moment with adaptations planned for The Last of Us, Borderlands, and Assassin's Creed. Along with the roaring success of The Witcher, it looks like we can expect plenty more video game-based movies and TV shows in the future.
Previous films have notoriously flopped (the Assassin's Creed movie was... not good), but branching out into TV would allow the time and space for plotlines and characters to fully develop and the audience to immerse themselves in that world. With that in mind, let's look at which games would make the best TV shows if they were to be picked up for a series.
Horizon Zero Dawn
This one might be a bit ambitious and would take a lot of CGI to pull off. But, if successful, Horizon Zero Dawn could be the newest hard-hitting sci-fi TV series with plenty of heart - and terrifying creatures.
With the popularity of shows like Vikings, it's easy to see how Horizon Zero Dawn's setting would appeal to the masses, and with the addition of dystopian, robot creatures to the story it could result in a TV show unlike any we've seen before.
Grand Theft Auto 5
A TV series of Grand Theft Auto 5 following the three main characters, Michael, Trevor and Franklin, would be a fun, easy watch action-comedy. Channeling similar vibes to shows like The Boys, the series could follow the band of miscreants as they pull off heists and make mistakes.
There are plenty of avenues a Grand Theft Auto TV show could go down. They could make the three main characters either completely brilliant or completely hapless failures - either way it would be an enjoyable watch.
Until Dawn
Until Dawn is arguably its own limited series already, just one that happens to be played at the same time. If this was turned into a teenage horror show, not unlike the canceled Scream TV series, it could draw in a big crowd of teen horror fans.
The show could follow an 8-episode arc with each episode following a different character on the mountaintop as they try to evade the killer. A series of Until Dawn will leave the audience rooting for their favorite characters, unsure who will die and who will make it through.
Ghost of Tsushima
Set in feudal Japan, Ghost of Tsushima follows the story of Jin Sakai after his home island, Tsushima, is invaded by Mongol chief Khotun Khan. When done well, historical series can be extremely popular and hard-hitting. Think, Sharpe, Sean Bean's classic 90s TV series, set in the Napoleonic War.
A series based on Ghost of Tsushima could explore the historical context of the Mongol invasion in more detail, delve deeper into the backstories of characters like Yuna and Ishikawa, and have plenty of bloody sword fights to keep the drama high.
A Way Out
Not wholly dissimilar to Prison Break, A Way Out is the tale of two men who become unlikely allies on their way out of jail. Throughout the game, the player battle with the good guy vs. bad guy dichotomy that would be fascinating to explore in a TV series.
There's a ton of backstory that could be extricated for these two characters and their relationship in prison could be developed before they plan their escape. It might not work for a long series, but as another short, limited series, A Way Out could be highly effective.
Detroit: Become Human
A show like Detroit: Become Human actually already exists. British Channel 4 show Humans was set in a world where human beings relied on lifelike robots to help with everyday tasks. But one day, the robots start to wake up. Although Humans received critical acclaim, it was canceled after 3 seasons. A show version of Detroit could take the best bits of Humans and shape it for a newer audience.
The game already almost feels like it should be a show, so much in the same way a TV series could follow the paths of the three robots as they come to terms with being alive. The game ends just at the point of the robots being recognized by the humans (if the player got the good ending) and so the series could continue that storyline of what happens next.
Bioshock Infinite
A Victorian, steam-punk city in the sky would be the perfect setting for a sci-fi mystery TV show. Bioshock Infinite could branch out into many different directions as a series, with the main character Booker solving mysteries and uncovering the truth behind the cult-like leader of Concordia, Comstock.
With plenty of twists and turns, it could be marketed as a fun romp in the sky, or a far darker, more eerie program, with the bright lights and colours hinting to something far more unsettling underneath.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Hellblade:Senua's Sacrifice was created with the help and consultation of many experts on psychosis and sufferers of the illness. The result is a game that handles the disease wonderfully and makes the player unsure what - if anything - is real, rather than happening in the titular character, Senua's head.
This seems like the type of concept Netflix would take and produce a slightly confusing but nevertheless impactful limited series with. Along the same lines of Maniac, Hellblade could be a short, intense series where onscreen would mirror the confusion inside Senua's head.
Life Is Strange
Chloe and Max are the perfect candidates for the next big teen drama. With lots of angst, teenage quarrels, and some superpowers à la The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the storyline almost writes itself.
Taking the game Life Is Strange as a jumping-off point, the series could follow Max, Chloe, and their friends during the trials and tribulations of school life. With old love interests rearing their head and Max's special power to rewind when things don't quite go her way, it has all the perfect elements of the next big teen hit.
Dragon Age
Much like The Witcher and Game of Thrones, Dragon Age could be the next big fantasy show. There's an intricate plot that could take seasons to develop, lots of characters with in-depth, developed backstories, and, like most modern fantasies, plenty of sex (and dragons).
The games already have extensive, developed lore and history. A TV show could start from Dragon Age: Origins and eventually work its way through the trilogy; but if even just one of the Dragon Age games was adapted, there would be multiple series worth of content to bring to the screen.