Video games are making their way to your television screen like never before. HBO’s The Last of Us is breaking viewership records on a weekly basis. The best Netflix show is based on the popular multiplayer game League of Legends. Amazon, Netflix, Paramount, and AMC are developing shows based on popular best-selling games such as Fallout, Halo, Mass Effect, and more.
Recently, researchers for I’m-A-Puzzle analyzed over 50 TV series and anime adapted from video games over the past 30 years. They compiled the top ten most searched for TV series based on a video game from that data.
The Last of Us
Airing on HBO, The Last of Us is an early contender for one of the best shows of 2023. In addition to a critically acclaimed first season, The Last of Us, based on the popular PlayStation video game series, draws an impressive number of viewers.
In addition to viewers, it’s the most searched TV series based on a video game, with a search volume of 301,000.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
The Netflix anime based on Cyberpunk 2077 from CD PROJEKT RED, Edgerunners is the second most searched TV series. It debuted in September of 2022 and has a search volume of 246,000.
Despite the interest, a second season is not planned.
Halo
The controversial Halo series on Paramount+ has a search volume of 201,000. However, despite a high search volume for the show, critics and fans were mixed. This is because the series deviated from the source material.
Many viewers felt like the show was its own thing that had the Halo IP slapped onto it at the last second.
Castlevania
From there, it’s a steep drop-off to fourth place. The Castlevania anime, which aired on Netflix for four seasons from 2017 through 2021, features a search volume of 110,000.
One possible reason for Castlevania’s lower placement on this list of most searched for TV series based on a video game? The show has been off the air for over a year now.
Sonic Prime
From an ended series to one that’s in its first season. Sonic Prime debuted on Netflix in December of 2022 and features eight episodes. A total of 24 episodes are planned, with a new season scheduled to air in 2023.
Sonic Prime has a search volume of just over 90,000.
Sonic Boom
There’s room for two Sonic the Hedgehog TV series on this list. It has a search volume of 74,000.
Unlike Sonic Prime, Sonic Boom aired two seasons on broadcast television. The first 52 episodes aired on Cartoon Network in 2014. In 2016, the remaining 52 episodes began airing on Boomerang.
The Witcher: Blood Origin
It may not be the mainline Netflix Witcher series, but it’s a Witcher series nonetheless.
Taking place 1,200 years before the events of The Witcher, Blood Origin details the creation of the very first Witcher. Like Sonic Boom, it has a search volume of 74,000.
Cross Fire
Not to be confused with the political show, the Chinese series Cross Fire airs on Tencent Video.
It features Xiao Feng, a former esports team captain, working alongside Lu Xiao Bei, a disabled esports athlete who lives 11 years in the future. Due to a “cosmic glitch,” the two work together to form their own esports team and achieve their dreams. The show has a search volume of 33,100.
Pokémon
The Pokémon anime debuted in 1997. Over 1,200 episodes later, we’re finally saying goodbye to Ash Ketchum after he obtained his goal of becoming a Pokémon World Champion. New protagonists are expected to take over when the new season debuts.
The series’ staying power is evident by its placement on this list; it’s still one of the top ten most searched for TV series based on a video game. It also has a search volume of 33,100.
Arcane: League of Legends
Finally, the last TV series is Arcane: League of Legends. Based on the popular online multiplayer game from Riot Games, Arcane has been able to transcend the genre to entertain gamers and mainstream audiences.
Arcane’s search volume is 22,200.
Analyzing the Results
“This research demonstrates a real variety in popular games including modern game adaptations, without forgetting about the iconic classics,” said a spokesperson for I’m-A-Puzzle. “In fact, if on one hand the list is topped by “The Last of Us,” which is the most recent adaptation of an extremely popular game, at the same time it figures names like “Pokémon” which started airing in 1997 and counts a whopping 1,228 episodes to this day and is one of the most popular anime of the world.”
