'Indiana Jones' video game in the works at Bethesda and Lucasfilm Games
Welcome back, Indy!
A day after the Lucasfilm Games branding was revived, the label announced that a new Indiana Jones video game is in development with Bethesda and Machine Games.
Bethesda Softworks, the publisher behind immersive and epic role-playing games across fantasy, sci-fi and action genres such as The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series, released a teaser yesterday that’s sure to get fans of the legendary archaeologist and film icon excited.
“A new Indiana Jones game with an original story is in development from our studio, @MachineGames, and will be executive produced by Todd Howard, in collaboration with @LucasfilmGames.” the game developer tweeted.
— Bethesda (@bethesda) January 12, 2021
Swedish studio MachineGames, responsible for recent installments in the Wolfenstein games, which take place in an alternate future where Nazis won World War II and have taken over the world, is managing the development in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games.
The 33-second clip shared on Bethseda’s social media accounts shows a desk cluttered with stacks of books, a leather-bound journal, typewriter, old photographs and other National Geographic-style expedition items. A few notes of the series’ theme song play before someone picks up Indy’s iconic fedora hat and reveals his whip underneath.
According to Lucasfilm Games, the new Indiana Jones game will tell an original, stand-alone story at the height of the famed adventurer's life. Indiana Jones, famously portrayed by Harrison Ford in the film franchise, has served as an inspiration for other modern video game adventurers, particularly Uncharted's anti-hero, Nathan Drake.
While not a lot of details have been revealed, the teaser provides several potential clues, including book titles, drawings and an "Overnight service to Rome," with a date stamp of "October 21, 1937."
In the film series, Indiana Jones was first introduced in Raiders of the Lost Ark, which was set in 1936, while The Last Crusade takes place in 1938. The teaser creatively drops the titles of the major studios behind the production, including Bethesda stamped on a passport, MachineGames on the old-school typewriter, and Lucasfilm Games on the analog camera with film rolls.
Among the books visible in the brief video is one “authored” by the upcoming game’s executive producer Todd Howard, the video game designer who led the development of the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls series, which have been hits with fans across generations of video game consoles.
No details on a release date were provided in the teaser, but according to a follow-up statement, it may be a while before more details are revealed.
“It'll be some time before we have more to reveal, but we’re very excited to share today’s news!” Bethesda wrote in a subsequent tweet.
On Monday, Lucasfilm announced the revival of the Lucasfilm Games banner to house all future video games, including upcoming Star Wars gaming titles and other Lucasfilm projects.
This year, Lucasfilm will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Raiders of the Lost Ark’s premiere, originally released in 1981. Harrison Ford, now 78, will be returning for the fifth and final Indiana Jones movie scheduled to come out in 2022.
(Images via Lucasfilm Games)