Xbox’s Indiana Jones Game Has Already Won Me Over for One Glorious Reason

While we still barely know anything about it, Bethesda’s Indiana Jones project is easily one of the most anticipated games currently in development. Thankfully all of that mystery is soon to be stripped away as Xbox announced plans to premiere a gameplay trailer during the upcoming Developer_Direct on January 18, offering up 10 whole minutes of gameplay for fans to obsess over.

Bethesda’s Indiana Jones game was first revealed back in January 2021 in a short trailer that didn’t tell us much beyond that the game existed. We also know it’s being developed by MachineGames, which is reason enough to be excited (more on that in a bit).

But since that announcement, we’ve heard nothing official. However, according to recent domain registrations from Lucasfilm, the as-of-yet untitled game may be called Indiana Jones And The Great Circle. A reference to “Ancient Circles” in Bethesda’s new teaser trailer for the upcoming gameplay trailer (because yes, that’s a thing now) seems to hint this could be the official title.

But even before seeing the game in action, any fan of Indiana Jones should already be excited that the game is in the right hands. There are a few key qualities that define the beloved archeologist that is Henry Jones Jr. He is charming, intelligent, a bit reckless, and loves to punch Nazis. Thankfully, MachineGames is well-equipped to adapt Jonesy to the world of video games.

MachineGames is the developer behind the new Wolfenstein games (The New Order, The Old Blood, The New Colossus, and Youngblood). Wolfenstein is, at its core, a series all about punching (and shooting and generally hurting) Nazis. That’s protagonist B.J. Blazkowicz's whole thing! He and Indy would be best friends if they existed in the same universe — which MachineGames totally has within its power to do now... right?

The story of MachineGames’ Wolfenstein series is also delightfully pulpy, a characteristic necessary for any good Indy story. Indy’s many adventures have managed to inspire not one but two iconic video game heroes in the form of Lara Croft and Nathan Drake, but it’s likely that due to MachineGames’ catalog of first-person shooters suggests we shouldn’t expect its Indy game to be a copy of Tomb Raider or Uncharted, rather it will be something new and unique.

The team at MachineGames isn’t the only brain behind the new Indy adventure, however, as Bethesda’s Todd Howard is on board as executive producer of the project. In an interview with Esquire in late 2023, Howard talked about his love for Indiana Jones and his excitement at the prospect of working on a game starring the character.

“I am a giant Indiana Jones fan,” Howard told Esquire. “It can be brought to video games in a unique way. The game is obviously: you’re exploring stuff. It’s about him. So if you’re playing the game, how do you feel that you are indeed playing versus just watching?”

Based on the original teaser for the game we know that it will take place at the height of Indy’s adventures as a ticket dated 1937 to Rome gives us an idea of the general setting for the upcoming game. Back in 2023, Howard kept tight-lipped on details of the project but teased Esquire, saying “We’ll talk next year”.

Looks like that time is about to arrive when the Developer_Direct happens on January 18.