Science fiction is a genre that works extremely well in the world of video games. With so many good novels in the genre, it's safe to say there are dozens of science fiction novels deserving of a video game adaptation with a AAA budget. Whether it's a story that was created decades ago, or a new tale brought to audiences in the modern era, science fiction as a whole is overflowing with captivating worlds, interesting characters, and dazzling mysteries worthy of a video game.
Reading, as popular of a hobby as it is, can sometimes be a medium where fantastic stories are trapped and hidden away from general audiences. Indie games are worthwhile and often land as some of the highest quality experiences in the gaming medium, but there are some science fiction stories that can only be translated with the AAA budget reserved for blockbuster-level games.
8 Waking Gods
Imagine a reality in which humans start finding large metallic pieces around the world that end up being body parts of some unknown alien civilization. Humans are curious by nature so the idea of them rebuilding it to see what happens is a totally plausible notion.
That's roughly the setup of Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel. It features plenty of science fiction mainstays such as a fight with an alien invader, connections to destiny and fate, and a layer of mystery that unfolds into something much more important and impactful than any of the characters involved anticipated. It feels like the story would best be told in a very linear structure, as opposed to the open-world game genre most science fiction titles fall into.
7 Ender's Game
The combination of shooting and science fiction is a winning one in the world of video games. Despite Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game having a movie adaptation that didn't fare too well in 2013, it doesn't mean the series couldn't still make an incredible AAA video game.
It's unclear where in the timeline it would take place, but the likeliest scenario is that it'd feature older soldiers entrenched in a conflict with the novel's insect alien species called "buggers" but would maybe feature flashbacks to the war game trials used to train young children for the inevitable invasion of the antagonistic insect aliens.
6 Leviathan Wakes
The name Leviathan Wakes might not sound all too familiar to general audiences, but the book by James S. A. Corey is actually the material that was adapted to make the beloved science fiction show The Expanse. When looking at what makes entertaining role-playing games in the AAA gaming space, interpersonal relationships intertwining with politics feel like a winning recipe.
Leviathan Wakes also has the added inclusion of weird alien organic entities that result in horror-adjacent scenarios where characters aren't sure if/when their life is in danger. A game could cut back and forth, with players taking control of detective Joe Miller and Earth-born protagonist Jim Holden. Each could offer unique gameplay experiences and showcase different perspectives.
5 Elder Race
Adrian Tchaikovsky's Elder Race may sound like an alien species inside of a science fiction tale, but it's actually the name of his 2021 book. Children of royalty who defy their parents and the perceived trajectory of their life in order to save those perceived as lesser is a good place to start in a science fiction story.
A video game with a AAA budget that likely has players taking on the role of Lynesse, the daughter of a queen, discussed earlier. It also has an ultimate threat the player must work toward defeating and is layered with mystery begging to be uncovered. It feels like the type of science fiction property that'll catch fire years after its release.
4 Snow Crash
In 1992 an author by the name of Neal Stephenson delivered a fascinating science fiction tale called Snow Crash. It centers on a dystopian future where the distribution of wealth is incredibly alarming. The main character's name is Hiro Protagonist, which is a bit on the nose, but the story centers on him, a pizza delivery guy turned private intel gatherer.
Though it shares some similarities to chaotic cyber-future worlds like Cyberpunk 2077, it also leans into many of the trope-like and self-indulgence of something like Ready Player One. An open-world game where players take on the role of Hiro in a dystopian version of Los Angeles sounds like a AAA game that needs to happen.
3 Outpost (Donovan)
Outpost is the first entry in the Donovan book series written by author W. Michael Gear. Donovan is the name of a planet that serves as the central focus of the story. The neat thing about how Outpost is structured is that readers get a glimpse at several perspectives through the eyes of characters from different walks of life.
Some of the people players of a AAA adaptation of the game would likely control range from rulers of ports and enforcement officers, to psychopathic criminals and wide-eyed colonists. Donovan as a setting is layered enough that players could get lost in side activities and exploration simply trying to figure out all that the planet has to offer them.
2 Mortal Engines
Sure, the movie adaptation of Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve wasn't exactly a major success. That doesn't take away from how neat the base concept of the books is. The idea of giant mobile cities in constant motion is science fiction gold in terms of an immediately entertaining pitch for a world.
In a video game players could explore a specific moving city and by helping out citizens, making major changes, and manipulating the powers at hand, could help elevate and evolve the city itself. It feels like it would be best served to follow the Western role-playing game formula of something like Fallout where player decisions and conversations play a major role in the conclusion of the narrative.
1 Dune
Frank Herbert's Dune is a science fiction property that has recently seen the Hollywood blockbuster treatment but has yet to make a major appearance in the AAA video game space. Some smaller licensed titles in niche genres have appeared, including both a real-time strategy game and an MMO experience.
An open-world role-playing game where players could explore both the planet of Arrakis and various other planetary locations featured in the series. Developers and writers could really flesh out an experience where the idea of scale and traversal are the core elements of what makes the game feel uniquely Dune. It feels like only a matter of time before a publisher licenses a meaningful AAA Dune game.