Bethesda has announced that their upcoming Indiana Jones game will be an Xbox and PC exclusive title according to The Verge. This news was confirmed by Bethesda’s head of global publishing during the FTC v. Microsoft case, with the Indiana Jones title being available on the first day of the Xbox Game Pass.
Bethesda has not released much information on the game since it was originally announced with a teaser trailer back in 2021. We know that the game is being developed by MachineGames, the same studio behind the Wolfenstein franchise. Beyond that, all people know about the game is what was revealed in the teaser trailer two years ago, which did not actually show any gameplay.
This game is being made under the Lucasfilm label as Disney’s way of increasing focus on video gaming. This is important because Disney originally had a contract for the Indiana Jones game to come out on multiple consoles, however the deal was amended after Microsoft acquired Bethesda to solely be for Xbox consoles. All of this was revealed during FTC v. Microsoft hearing, where the FTC counsel admitted to this change being made.
Pete Hines, Bethesda’s head of global publishing, revealed his reasoning behind the Xbox exclusivity stating:
“The primary one in my view is what I said about reducing risk and trying to get to a degree of certainty. You’re dealing with a licensor who’s going to have a ton of feedback on what you’re making, add a lot of time to your schedule.”
With Microsoft also making Bethesda’s Starfield and Redfall exclusive after the acquisition, the FTC argues that this behavior might affect Activision Blizzard games if their acquisition were to go through. In light of this, the FTC has filed to request a preliminary injunction, to prevent Microsoft from closing the Activision deal until its own administrative process is over.