With an announcement earlier this week from Lucasfilm Games that they were breathing new life into their brand, hopes were high for another Star Wars title. Turns out, it’s Indiana Jones instead.
The game is teased in a short clip on the official Bethesda Twitter page. Developed by acclaimed studio MachineGames, the Swedish studio behind the Wolfenstein games, and headed up by Todd Howard of Bethesda.
A new Indiana Jones game with an original story is being developed by the award-winning studio, @MachineGames, and executive produced by game industry icon Todd Howard of Bethesda Games Studios. Learn more at https://t.co/cfr49ZN4ei. https://t.co/iUpMVlnC1O
— Lucasfilm Games (@LucasfilmGames) January 12, 2021
There isn’t much to go on in the teaser. A book reads “Ancient Circle”, there’s an airline ticket for Rome, a clock ticks in the background, and it’s scored with a snippet of the classic Indiana Jones theme tune. Oh, and Indy’s whip is there, too.
A MachineGame’s Indiana Jones sounds pretty exciting, though. They have a history of developing brilliant shooters, and an Indy game with Wolfenstein mechanics sounds fine by me. Here’s hoping the story stands up to the test.
This will be the first Indiana Jones games since 2009’s Indiana Jones: The Staff Of Kings, which ironically never arrived on Xbox. There have been a couple of spin-off games for mobile since, and a LEGO game, but not a full AAA release like this.
The Staff of Kings was a pretty well-rated game. Another previous title, The Emperor’s Tomb, is a bit of a childhood/nostalgic classic for a lot of gamers. Will Bethesda be able to recapture that magic?
Rumors are flying about already. With Microsoft and Bethesda’s deal coming to fruition last year, this might be Xbox’s exclusive answer to the Uncharted series. It’s not crazy to draw similarities between the two.
Nothing has been confirmed yet, and the Tweet confirms that no more details will be released any time soon. If this is an Xbox exclusive – and the game is actually any good (we’re looking at you, Fallout 76) – it could be a day one Game Pass title.
This issue will be hotly debated right up until it’s announced, whether it goes exclusive or multi-platform. It all boils down to whether or not Lucasfilms is happy with one of its key franchises being limited to a single platform.
While this wasn’t the Bethesda announcement many were looking for, and perhaps not even the announcement many were expecting from Lucasfilms, the hype has already started for the Indiana Jones game. Let’s see how it all plays out.
