Wolfenstein Developer’s New Indiana Jones Game Is A “Mash-Up,” Todd Howard Says

Bethesda’s Todd Howard has shed some new light on the upcoming Indiana Jones game in development at Wolfenstein developer Machine Games.

Appearing on Lex Fridman’s podcast, Howard started off by saying Machine Games is a “perfect fit” to develop the new Indiana Jones game. Howard originally pitched the game in 2009, but it didn’t come together at the time. Now that Disney is ramping up its licensing deals, Bethesda was able to secure a deal and put Machine Games to work on the game.

“If you like Indiana Jones, it is a love letter to Indiana Jones,” Howard, who is an executive producer on the title, said in the interview.

Pressed to reveal exactly what type of game the Indiana Jones title will be, Howard said it isn’t so easy to put it into one particular category or another.

“It is a mash-up. It isn’t one thing, intentionally. It does a lot of different things that we’ve wanted to do in a game. So, it’s a unique thing,” he said.

Howard’s role as an executive producer on the untitled Indiana Jones 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 Starfield–that’s a daily job that he is more hands-on with on a regular basis.

The new Indiana Jones game will tell an original story about the archaeologist-adventurer. As for developer Machine Games, it is well-versed in stories about Nazis through the Wolfenstein series, which could be a strength considering the Indiana Jones series is focused in part on Nazis, too.

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.

No release date has been announced for the new Indiana Jones game. As for the movie series, Harrison Ford returns to play Indiana Jones once again in a fifth film coming in 2023.