Bethesda’s Indiana Jones Game Will Be Exclusive To Xbox And PC

Xbox exclusive: Bethesda will release its Indiana Jones video game exclusively on Xbox. The Wolfenstein-developer Machine Games is developing the Indiana Jones title. 

The news came from a court case between Xbox and the Federal Trade Commission (and Activision Blizzard which Microsoft wants to buy), which was happening today. Bethesda Head of Publishing Pete Hines announced that the game would be an Xbox exclusive. IGN. Machine Games will release Indiana Jones on PC as well, like other Xbox first-party games. 

Hines has revealed that Disney originally had an agreement with ZeniMax parent Bethesda that stated that Indiana Jones would release for both Xbox and PC. Hines says after Microsoft acquired ZeniMax in 2020, the agreement with Disney was amended to transition the Indiana Jones game away from a multiplatform release and instead, into one that will release exclusively on Xbox and PC.

The court case revealed today that Xbox’s Phil Spencer had told Hines Bethesda would have to consider title exclusivity in a “case-by-case” basis. IGN reports. Hines explained the reason why Indiana Jones had been made an exclusive by citing “reducing risk and trying for a certain degree of clarity.”” 

“You’re dealing with a licensor who is giving a ton of feedback on what you’re making, is going to add a ton of time to your scheduling, these agreements, you don’t get to take as long as you want, you have a window of time in which you’re going to release a game, you immediately have a clock that’s ticking on you,” Hines said, according to IGN.

Machine Games Indiana Jones, a game by Bethesda was first revealed in 2021. A short teaser video followed. That’s the last time we heard about it. Bethesda CEO Todd Howard has revealed that the first time he pitched an Indiana Jones game was in 2009. The game has yet to be released. 

[Source: IGN]

Editor’s noteThis headline was updated to include the PC version of this game.