Speaking in court in Microsoft’s legal battle against the Federal Trade Commission, Bethesda’s SVP of global marketing and communications Pete Hines revealed that MachineGames’ upcoming game based on the Indiana Jones franchise will be an Xbox console exclusive (via VGC).
When asked by FTC lawyers whether the original deal Bethesda had signed with Disney involved Bethesda releasing the Indiana Jones game on “multiple consoles”, Hines responded by saying “yes”.
He then confirmed that Bethesda had amended its agreement with Disney after the former’s acquisition by Microsoft, turning the upcoming Indiana Jones title into an Xbox console exclusive title with a day-one release on Game Pass.
When asked why Indiana Jones was changed to being an Xbox console exclusive, Hines said (via journalist Derek Strickland on Twitter), “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, you’re required to provide a release window. You immediately have a clock that’s ticking. We liked the idea of bringing it to Game Pass and all the players we could reach there.”
Rumours of the Indiana Jones game originally being a multiplatform title first surfaced back in May 2022. Reports at the time indicated that the upcoming game wouldn’t be exclusive to the Xbox, while other reports conflicted with the idea, stating that Indiana Jones would skip PlayStation consoles.
The Indiana Jones games was announced back in 2021, and is currently in development by Wolfenstein studio MachineGames, with Todd Howard serving as the executive producer of the title.
