MachineGames, a Swedish studio under the now Microsoft-owned Bethesda banner, has revealed its next project. Surprisingly enough, while MachineGames’ bread and butter for several years has been the Wolfenstein series, this new project is a pretty substantial swerve. Although, to be fair, fighting Nazis may still be a part of the deal.
Weirdly enough, this news intersects with yesterday’s launch of the new Lucasfilm Games branding. We all figured the first new game under that label would be Star Wars, but turns out the honor is going to Indiana Jones instead.
MachineGames’ Next Project is Indiana Jones
The news came via Twitter this morning, in a teaser trailer posted by both Bethesda and MachineGames’ individual social media accounts. The trailer is simple; the shot pans across a desk full of aging archeological equipment, then over a typewriter and camera sporting the MachineGames and Lucasfilm Games logos respectively.
The camera settles on a brown hat, which a figure off-screen picks up to reveal a whip underneath. You can check it out right here for yourselves, in case there are more fan-servicey details hidden:
We’re developing a new Indiana Jones video game! As huge fans of the franchise, it’s a tremendous honor for us to create a brand-new Indiana Jones game with a completely original story. We’re very excited and can’t wait to share more in the future! https://t.co/2oN6TZ5GJO
— machinegames (@machinegames) January 12, 2021
There isn’t much else about this new Indiana Jones game to reveal, although Bethesda so far has confirmed two things. First, this is an original story rather than an adaptation of a previous film or other narrative work. Second, this game will be executive produced by Todd Howard, who is usually the face of games from Bethesda Softworks.
What that actually means remains to be seen, but it’s likely we’ll see more of Howard being in front of presentations and other news drops about this project as time goes on.
MachineGames’ last titles were curious Wolfenstein spinoffs, following the well-recieved Wolfenstein II: THe New Colossus. The reception of those projects, Youngblood and Cyberpilot, wasn’t nearly as solid.
That doesn’t mean Wolfenstein is being shelved, as Bethesda PR boss Pete Hines has previously confirmed the next major Wolfenstein game is happening in some form or another. Either way, this is a chance for MachineGames to do more to get its name out there beyond the iD-style shooting chaos that has been the Wolfenstein series since The New Order soft-rebooted the series.
Also, the whole Return to Castle Monkey Ball thing happened this week; a bizarre but lovely coincidence indeed. What do our readers think about this? Indiana Jones hasn’t really been a notable presence in videogames since the LucasArts adventure games, so personally I’m surprised this is the first reveal under the new Lucasfilm Games brand.
At the same time, it’s refreshing to see there’s more to come there besides various Star Wars projects. Let us know what you think by reaching out over at the Prima Games Twitter and Facebook channels!
