Summary
- The new Indiana Jones game developed by MachineGames is about halfway through its development, as revealed in an interview with Todd Howard.
- The game's status as an Xbox exclusive title was confirmed during Xbox vs FTC hearings, following Bethesda's acquisition by Xbox.
- Whether the game will be in first-person or third-person perspective remains unknown.
The picture surrounding Bethesda's mysterious Indiana Jones game has become slightly clearer as an update is given regarding how long it's been in development. Indiana Jones, which is being made by Bethesda's Wolfenstein studio MachineGames and executive produced by Todd Howard, had been revealed with a short teaser trailer way back in early 2021. The project is a first for MachineGames, which has only ever made Wolfenstein and Quake since its 2009 inception, and a rarity for Bethesda which seldom engages with licensed properties.
As the nature of this new Indiana Jones game has remained a mystery, so too has its status as an Xbox exclusive title until the Xbox vs FTC hearings earlier this Summer. The arduous hearings uncovered that Indiana Jones was originally set to be a multiplatform title before Bethesda became part of the Xbox family. Once the acquisition of Bethesda went through, Xbox renegotiated the Indiana Jones deal with Lucasfilm Games to have Indiana Jones exclusive to its ecosystem, as its developer MachineGames is now a first-party Xbox studio.
MachineGames' progress on Indiana Jones has become a bit clearer to eager fans. In an interview feature by GQ with Todd Howard delving into the production of Starfield ahead of the massive space RPG's imminent release, MachineGames' Indiana Jones was brought up. It was revealed that this new title featuring the legendary treasure hunter is about midway through its development. This coming January will be three years since Indiana Jones was first revealed. With that, it's safe to assume that the announcement was made with the game in pre-production or very early on in its actual development.
Whether Indiana Jones will be first-person or third-person still remains a mystery. Up to this point, MachineGames has only shipped first-person titles, but it's surely difficult for fans to imagine playing as Indiana Jones in first-person. Todd Howard had previously stated that Indiana Jones will be a "mashup" when asked about the game's genre late last year. What that means in terms of whether the game is primarily first or third-person is still undetermined. Some believe a third-person Indiana Jones title is a great opportunity for MachineGames to spread its wings and for Xbox to fill that third-person action adventure gap it still has in its exclusive portfolio.
With Indiana Jones reportedly halfway through development, it'll likely still be a while before fans will be able to learn more about the enigmatic MachineGames "mashup" title. It's probable that Indiana Jones won't be looking to launch until somewhere around 2025 at the earliest. With that said, it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility to begin seeing gameplay as early as next year, either at Xbox's annual summer showcase or potentially at The Game Awards 2024.
Indiana Jones is in development for PC and Xbox Series X|S.
Source: GQ