Breaking Bad: Criminal Elements is a new mobile game that will reportedly be coming some time before the end of this year, and will allow players to build up their very own meth empire while interacting with familiar characters. The teaser video below and a brief statement from series creator Vince Gilligan are about all that’s available right now. According to Gilligan, the game will serve as an “authentic extension of the series’ story universe”, and will allow players to see and interact with series favorites “in a completely new way.”
Background: There are a ton of Breaking Bad apps and even some knockoff games in the Play Store, but this new entry, published by FTX Games, will be the very first to ever get Vince Gilligan’s official blessing. Though story and gameplay details are scant, it seems that this game’s storyline will serve as a direct sequel to the vaunted TV series. Players will get to rub shoulders with, and supposedly compete with, series stars Walter White and Jesse Pinkman. Other series favorites like morally ambiguous lawyer Saul Goodman and his frequent consult Mike Ehrmantraut will also be on board, implying that players will not only move through the underground world after the events of the main series, or perhaps during an alternate retelling, but will also follow a structured story that involves many of the same characters that series fans have come to know and love, or perhaps hate. The trailer is extremely well-crafted, but it really does nothing to express what the game will be like, aside from the fact that it will be polished. If the word about players building their own empires is true, then the game may involve some strategy in selling, taking over turf, allocating resources, and even clashing with other entities. Naturaly, that would also mean that the door is left open for the developers to implement PVP mechanics in some form. Whether that will happen, obviously, remains to be seen. This is another game from FTX, the studio behind tie-in mobile games for beloved drama series like Criminal Minds and Narcos, so players who are familiar with the studio can likely expect more of the same quality. Gillian, for his part, seems excited about the new game.
Impact: Breaking Bad knocked American pop culture on its haunches in its decade-past heyday, but it never really faded away. This means that the release of this new mobile game could easily reignite a mania for the series and bring on tons of new fans. Existing fans will get to see the show’s universe from a whole new angle, and will seemingly get the chance to affect how the game’s story plays out. For all intents and purposes, this seems to be an official continuation of Breaking Bad. If that is indeed the case, it could lead to a new spinoff show that covers or adds onto the story of the game, or any number of other series developments. For now, fans will have to sit back and wait to see what FTX has in store.