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Bethesda Game Studios boss Todd Howard has clarified his involvement in the upcoming Indiana Jones game that’s in the works at Wolfenstein studio Machine Games. Howard is an executive producer on the game, but what does that mean?
He told IGN that when he is an executive producer on any project, that means his role is more about “checking in on” the game as opposed to being directly involved on a daily basis. He might check on Indiana Jones, or any other project where he’s an executive producer, once a week or once a month, depending on the state of its development.
By contrast, for a game that Howard is directing–including 2022’s Starfield–that’s a daily job that he is more hands-on with on a regular basis.
While Howard might not be involved with the day-to-day on the new Indiana Jones game, he said he is “obsessed” with the film series, saying Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the best movies ever made. As for how the project came about, Howard said he’s been trying to make an Indiana Jones game for more than a decade. About 10 or 12 years ago, Howard said he had a meeting with Lucasfilm about making an Indiana Jones game–and it almost happened.
“I had met some people at Lucas, way back in the day, and said I have this Indiana Jones game in my head. I got chatting with them, and they’re like, ‘That’s awesome you should come out and pitch it.’ So I went out to Lucasfilm and I pitched this game and we almost made it,” he said.
It didn’t move forward in part because Bethesda didn’t have the bandwidth to develop it at the time. Years later, Howard synced up with Disney licensing executive John Drake, who liked the concept for his Indiana Jones idea and helped get the project off the ground as part of Disney’s wider game licensing efforts that also includes a new Star Wars game at Ubisoft.
Howard brought the Indiana Jones idea to Machine Games, and they were enthusiastic. The Indiana Jones and Wolfenstein universes are focused in part on Nazis, which could be a strength, Howard said. Very little is known about the new game, however, but Howard said it will tell an original story about the archaeologist-adventurer.
“They’re doing an amazing job; happy to lend a hand and be involved,” Howard said.
Given that Microsoft owns Machine Games through its purchase of ZeniMax, it’s assumed that the Indiana Jones title will be exclusive to Xbox and PC, and available to Game Pass subscribers whenever it’s released.
The Indiana Jones movie series is continuing, too, as Harrison Ford is set to play the character once again in a fifth movie that is currently filming.
In addition to the Indiana Jones game, which doesn’t have a release date yet, Machine Games is apparently working on a third game in its Wolfenstein series to follow The New Order and The New Colossus. “Absolutely, we’re making a Wolfenstein III,” Bethesda’s Pete Hines said in 2018.
In other news, Howard recently said he has ideas for Fallout 5 and briefly discussed The Elder Scrolls 6.
