The indie ghost hunting simulation game Phasmophobia broke onto the scene just in time for Halloween, and its developer Kinetic Games has capitalized on this timing with the release of Phasmophobia's third major post-launch update. A majority of the update focuses on fixing bugs and adjusting balance throughout the game, but there is also new content - apparently including a reference to Breaking Bad.
One might expect references to series like Syfy's Ghost Hunters or Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures given that programming inspired the visual language of Phasmophobia's gameplay loop, in which players work together to gather paranormal evidence with devices like electric and magnetic fields (EMF) meters. However, Kinetic Games has instead teased that a potential new ghost name will be "the one that knocks."
For those who are not in the know, given AMC's Breaking Bad went off the air in 2013, this is a reference to Bryan Cranston's infamous line from Season 4 of the hit drama in which his character Walter White tells his wife that he is not in danger; rather he is the one who creates danger for others. In a 2016 interview with Entertainment Weekly's Jess Cagle, Cranston said this was the moment audiences would fully recognize the character's "transformation" into his drug lord alter-ego, Heisenberg.
The reference likely won't go deeper than lifting a name from Breaking Bad, based on what Kinetic Games said on Twitter. While AMC does have a history of crossing over its shows with video games, such as The Walking Dead characters appearing in Brawlhalla, it does not seem like this has occurred in any official capacity. If anything, it's just the developers showing their appreciation for a popular show.
That being said, it's hard to imagine that Kinetic Games could not get an official brand deal if they wanted to. Phasmophobia has been a breakout success for the studio thanks to its large presence on Twitch, even outselling Baldur's Gate 3, The Outer Worlds, and Cyberpunk 2077 pre-orders on Steam.
Other simple, community-focused games like Mediatonic's Fall Guys and InnerSloth's Among Us have seen similar success thanks to streaming websites like Twitch. With regards to the prior, Fall Guys recently announced a crossover with Godzilla, building on previous connections to games like Valve's Half-Life and Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog. It seems entirely possible that Phasmophobia could go in a similar direction going forward, and feature ghosts based on characters beyond Walter White.
Phasmophobia is available now on PC.
Source: Entertainment Weekly