From Screen to Silver Screen: Why Video Game Adaptations Like Fallout and The Last of Us Are Finally Becoming Great TV Series
For years, adapting video games into film or television felt like a losing battle. High-profile failures such as Super Mario Bros. (1993) and Assassin’s Creed (2016) cemented the idea that games simply couldn’t translate into compelling screen narratives. Yet recent hits like HBO’s The Last of Us and Amazon Prime Video’s Fallout have shattered that stigma, proving that video game adaptations are not only viable, they can be among the best television being made today. This shift marks a turning point for Hollywood, where games are finally being treated not as disposable IP, but as rich storytelling foundations. Why Early Video Game Adaptations Failed Historically, studios viewed video games as brand names rather than narrative worlds. According to industry analysis from Video Games Industry Memo , early adaptations struggled because filmmakers often stripped away character development and lore, reducing complex experiences into shallow action plots. As explored in this breakdown...