Bethesda, Lucasfilm Games, and Machine Games all had a major surprise in store for us. Seemingly out of nowhere, all three announced that they are currently developing brand new game, and not just any new game, an Indiana Jones game. Bethesda will be the main publisher with Todd Howard acting as the Executive Producer while working in conjunction with Lucasfilm Games, who own the rights to the franchise. Machine Games, who are known for the current Wolfenstein series, will be the main developer for the project.
Bethesda also revealed a teaser trailer, and at a slim 33 seconds, it doesn’t show much of anything about what the game could be about. In addition, neither company mentioned any sort of launch time frame, or which platforms the title would, or could, be on. The trailer shows a camera pan across a desk with numerous objects while also showcasing the three aforementioned studio’s that are involved with the project. It ends with Indiana’s trademark fedora and whip on the table, with the former being picked up by an unknown person, presumably Indiana Jones himself.
For those who don’t know, Indiana Jones is a wildly successful film franchise created by George Lucas and directed by Steven Spielberg. The franchise has spawned four films, each of which star Harrison Ford as the titular character. While the series has gone onto critical acclaim, the same cannot be said for the Indiana Jones game franchise, which has been dormant for more than ten years. There were some highlights though, such as point and click adventure title Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, the platformer Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb, and the very successful Lego adaptation Lego Indiana Jones.
While this is very exciting to hear, the real question on everyone’s mind is which platform the title will be developed for. Ever since Microsoft outright purchased Bethesda and all of their studios for an astonishing $7.5 billion, everyone was wondering when that Xbox exclusive from the company was going to come into play. With this new announcement, we may have just found it. While this is not officially confirmed by anyone on any side, back in October Xbox’s top Executive, Phil Spencer, did suggest future exclusivity for any upcoming Bethesda titles that had yet to be announced. Only time will tell if Microsoft uses that deal to their advantage and makes the Indiana Jones title an Xbox exclusive.