When a show ends,we can’t help but crave more of it in whatever shape or form.Movie and show adaptations of iconic video games are quite popular nowadays likeFallout,Arcane, andCastlevania. Surprisingly, we don’t hear a lot about the other way around.
There are undoubtedlyplenty of successful games already that are based on popular TV shows:The Simpsons, Telltales’The Walking Dead, and evenSouth Park: The Fractured but Whole.
People want to interact with their favorite piece of media by immersing themselves in that world,and maybe even want to see what might happen if a character had made a different choice.
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So why aren’t there more games based on TV shows? Some definitely deserve to have video game adaptations because of the storytelling potential they have, or becausetheir premise could work wonders as a video game.
Let’s take a look at some amazing shows that have the potential to be expanded into a video game.Tons of TV shows are worthy of being on this list, sothis is purely subjective.
We’ll be limiting the number ofanimeto a maximum of three, and we’ll be looking atshows that don’t already have an official game.
We’ll also be ranking this list based onhow likely we think these games could exist.
As such, gachas, mobile games, board games, pinball machines, and crossovers/collaborations don’t count.Keep in mind that all these are purely hypothetical and are conceptualized for entertainment.If you’re a video game developer who stumbled upon a gold mine here–you’re welcome.
Spoiler Warning: Because we’ll be talking about the premise of certain shows, knowing about the twists may diminish the “wow” factor of these shows if you’ve never seen them.
10Midnight Diner
Sit Down, Have A Drink
Midnight Diner
Let’s start with a comparatively lesser-known show, one that’s morecontemplative and cozy.
Midnight Dineris ananthology series centered around an enigmatic and stoic chef known only as “Master,“and the lives of his customers as he peacefully operates his titular yet unnamed midnight diner.
BecauseMidnight Dinerhas self-contained episodic stories, a narrative arc isn’t entirely necessary, asthe point of the show is to learn about the myriad of stories and customers that Master meets, as he serves them with whatever dish they ask for, as long as it’s simple enough.
I’d imagine aMidnight Dinergame to be cozy,devoid of real stakesother than brief concern for the well-being of Master’s customers as they struggle with problems life throws at them.
As a game based on a show centered around food, there should be a simple cooking mechanic resembling other narrative-driven culinary games likeVenba,Good Pizza, Great Stories, andVA-11 Hall-A,asthe recipes created can reflect the customers and their stories.
9The Good Place
Holy Forking Shirt!
The Good Place
The Good Placeisa sitcom about four humans who find themselves in the titular “Good Place,“a supposed afterlife where white-trash Arizonian Eleanor Shellstrop believes she doesn’t belong.
To hide the fact that she’s actually a horrible person, Eleanor enlists ethics professor Chidi to teach her moral philosophy, along with lovable idiot Jason and spoiled rich girl Tahani.
As it turns out, the four humans are in The Bad Place, put there by Michael, an “angel” who later reveals himself to be a demon tasked with tormenting them.
This begins a series of hijinks whereEleanor and her fellow humans try to thwart Michael’s plans while trying to avoid eternal torment in The Bad Place.
A game based onThe Good Placewould most likely bea puzzle-focused, narrative-driven RPG withan emphasis on philosophy and ethics,along with a story and characters completely separate from the show, while maintaining its comedic tone and premise.
There could be a morality meter where choices matter, and affinity systems where you forge and strengthen bonds with NPCs. Of course,with lovable characters, romance could blossom from this kind of story.
I would imagineThe Good Placewould have thephilosophical musingsofDisco Elysium, the diversity of characters likeBaldur’s Gate 3, and social links and relationship-building in thePersonaseries.
8Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Nine-Nine!
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Perhaps my favorite sitcoms of all time,Brooklyn Nine-Nineis centered around the lives of a detective squad in the fictional 99th Precinct ofthe NYPD.
While each episode has its own self-contained story with an overarching seasonal plot,Season 8’s finale focuses on Detective Jake Peralta as he grapples with balancing fatherhood with his passion as a detective.
Many fans were sad to see the show end, especially two years later, when Captain Holt’s actor, Andre Braugher, tragically passed away.
With that in mind,we will need to respect the memory of the show and the narrative conclusions of each characterwhile exploring what madeBrooklyn Nine-Ninespecial. Of course, it would be easy to just make a corny game that recycles the story arcs of the eight seasons of the show, and that wouldn’t make a great game.
Ideally,aBrooklyn Nine-Ninegame could be a comedy puzzle game with crime-solving and relationship-building as its core mechanics,with optional mini-games interspersed throughout, and a relatively small open-world for players to explore Brooklyn on their own.
This hypothetical game could center around Jake’s lifea few years after his retirement from the NYPD, where Mac has all grown up to be his own character.
Jake deserves an honest-to-goodnessDie Hardmoment,so a dire (yet comedic) situation that forces Jake to come out of early retirement would make for an interesting story to explore.
Besides, Boyle has never won any of the Halloween Heists, and I genuinely believehe deserves at least one win.
Hello, You
Youis apsychological thrillercentered around Joe Goldberg,a serial killer who justifies his murders through the twisted, romantic notion that he’s protecting the woman he “loves,“all the while stalking and manipulating them to be who he thinks they are.
Okay, okay, I know,we do NOT want to play as the pathetic and reprehensible Joe Goldberg.Besides, Season 5 finishes Joe’s story, and most if not all narrative loose-ends have been more or less wrapped up.
How about a story that introduces a completely new protagonist who is also an obsessive stalker/serial killer like Joe, but is distinct enough to be their own character?
AYougame would most likely be a narrative-driven game where choices matter,with asanity systemandstalking mechanicssimilar to those of theHitmangames,Dishonored,andYandere Simulator–if it was ever finished.
Whether you choose to become a monster by committing atrocities in the name of love or resist your urges,a game based onYouneeds to be effective in making the player uneasy and grossed-out yet intrigued enough to continue the story.
6Peaky Blinders
Nice Threads
Peaky Blinders
Peaky Blindersis aperiod crime dramaset in England right after the First World War, and is based on the real-life Peaky Blinders street gang and its ruthless and charismatic leader, Tommy Shelby, played by Cillian Murphy.
Peaky Blindershas the makings of a great video game adaptation.Picture this: an action-adventurecrime RPGwhere you play as a member of the Peaky Blinders gang on asmall open world mapreminiscent ofMafiaandLike A Dragongames.
It can be narrative-driven along with a balance of melee and gun combat against rival gangs and the authorities. To top it all off,the gang members need to be dripped out in immaculate three-piece suits.
Since Season 6 wasn’t the end of the show, and it’s loosely based on real historical events,there’s plenty of room to fit a separate narrative into thePeaky Blinderstimeline through this hypothetical game.
5Bridgerton
How Scandalous!
Bridgerton
Bridgertonhas always been a guilty pleasure of mine. I mean,who doesn’t love a salacious love affair mixed with the low stakes of social expectations?
Season 1 has arguably the strongest story, and the chemistry between Daphne and Simon is one of my favorite romances on television.
With Season 4 constantly teased for releasing in 2026, there’s no doubt thatBridgertonhas the potential to become a multimedia franchise. A video game adaptation shouldn’t be out of the question.
But what would aBridgertonvideo game adaptation look like? Not a AAA open-world action-adventure, that’s for sure, buta dating simwhere you’re able to fully customize an original character, with a sizable,inclusive castof romanceable characters who each appeal to a wide variety of preferences,like the lovable cast ofBaldur’s Gate 3’sOrigin Characters.
Picture thesocial linksofPersona 3to5mixed with the colorful and lighthearted tone ofDream DaddyandMonster Prom.
Because we’re talking about Shonda Rhimes' work (thinkScandalandHow To Get Away With Murder),the story is going to be focused on a mysterious scandal, complete with multiple possible endingsthat depend on your character’s backstory, your romance option (or lack thereof), and whether you solve it or hide it forever.
Of course, other than guest appearances by established characters,the story and cast would be completely original and separate from the TV show to avoid continuity breaks.
4Parasyte: The Maxim
A Human Or A Parasite?
Parasyte: The Maxim
Parasyteis a body-snatcher sci-fi horror anime based on a manga of the same name, and is centered around Shinichi andan unlikely symbiotic bond with a parasite that he names Migi.
Because of the premise ofParasyte,there’s a lot of potential in creating a more slow-paced action horror RPG.Whether it be a video game version of Shinichi’s story or a completely original story, the game should be centered around managing your Parasite abilities, andmaybe the possibility to merge Parasites like Gotou.
In lore, a human in a symbiotic relationship with a Parasite is almost impossible–Shinichi was extremely lucky, and there’s no precedent that a human like Shinichi can have more than one Parasite inhabit a host body.
As such, aParasytegame could be an RPG about aParasite trying to survive while maintaining its disguise in a world that knows about Parasites,all the while creating a branching narrative where it could either learn to be human or survive purely out of cold logic.
Gameplay-wise, how about ahack-and-slash with plenty of player-skill expression? You can take the easy route and become overpowered with Parasite abilities, or challenge yourself by using nothing but your base abilities.
3Delicious In Dungeon
Delicious in Dungeon
Delicious in Dungeonis animated by Studio Trigger and based on an amazing manga that takes an interesting spin on typical fantasy stories witha band of misfit adventurers eating monsters not out of desperation or survival, but out of culinary curiosity.
Because the dishes inDelicious in Dungeonare so well-thought-out and expertly crafted, I’d be remiss not to imagine a hypotheticalDelicious in Dungeongame as anything buta JRPG with anemphasis on cooking mechanics.
Because the anime and manga are still ongoing, I can’t say much about the narrative, but the gameplay loop would very much focus onfighting and killing monsters via turn-based combatsimilar toLike A Dragon: Infinite WealthorExpedition 33, and thenusing monster parts as ingredients to create mouth-watering dishessimilar toBattle Chef Brigade.
I don’t think aDelicious and Dungeongame is highly unlikely–Kui herself has been known to be a fan of western RPGs likeBaldur’s GateandDragon Age.
2Blue Eye Samurai
Abijah Fowler Was Only The Beginning
With Season 2 ofBlue Eye Samuraiset to release next year in 2026, we can only cope with the wait by speculating what a video game adaptation could look like.
Blue Eye Samuraiis an animated Netflix series aboutMizu, a half-white, half-Japanese swordswoman who travels across Japan to find and kill four white men,one of whom is her father, who remained in Japan illegally after the country closed its borders during the Tokugawa shogunate.
Because Mizu’s story inBlue Eye Samuraiisn’t over yet, the only way to create a game without messing with continuity is toeither make a separate story inconsequential to the overarching narrative in the Netflix show,or create a different character with a different cast, which still has plenty of badass moments that could lend themselves be great levels and boss fights.
But what would the game look like?Naturally, it’d be a third-person hack-and-slash game, with satisfyingsword combatemphasizing swift and technical strikes against waves of enemies.ThinkGhost of Tsushima, Rise of the Ronin, andLike A Dragon: Isshin.
“I’m The Upgrade.”
Honestly, you shouldn’t be surprised thatThe Boyswould be mentioned on this list.Who can resist making a game based on a dark parody of the superhero genre that rips into comic book tropes in Marvel and DC?
While Homelander is already featured inMortal Kombat 1,Rainbow Six Siege,andCall of Duty Warzone, I’m honestly shocked thatnobody has tried to make a game based on the show or any of its spinoffs,as the universe is a treasure trove of potential stories to be explored.
LikeGen VandDiabolical, this hypotheticalThe Boysvideo game would have a completely original story and cast of characters, with pre-established characters mentioned in passing or making cameo or guest appearances.
Anopen-world action-adventurewith RPG elements would be perfect for a game like this, as you may immerse yourself in the violent and corrupt world ofThe Boys, similar to games likeGTA 5orinFAMOUS,where morality can be several shades of grey.
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