Indiana Jones has once again become a topic of conversation following the recent announcement of the fifth Indiana Jones film. It's prompted discussion over if the Indiana Jones video game being developed by MachineGames will make an appearance during this year's Bethesda summer games showcase. In turn, it's now being claimed that despite Microsoft's acquisition of MachineGames as part of the ZeniMax deal, its Indiana Jones game will not be an Xbox console exclusive.
The report comes from Windows Central's Jez Corden, who explained what he's heard about the Indiana Jones game while discussing possible titles that could appear at this year's Xbox/Bethesda summer event. His comments are short and simple. Corden says that he's heard the Indiana Jones video game is not an Xbox console exclusive. However, he does mention that he heard this news a year ago, which opens the possibility of things having changed in the year since.
MachineGames' Indiana Jones game was first announced in January 2021. A 30-second trailer was released confirming that Bethesda and MachineGames were working with Lucasfilm Games to create a new Indiana Jones title, but little else was shared either at the time or in the months since. Notably absent from the announcement was any information about which platforms Indiana Jones would eventually be released on.
The early 2021 announcement and lack of information led to serious questions regarding what platforms Indiana Jones would support upon its eventual launch. That's because Microsoft's acquisition of Zenimax, which included Bethesda and MachineGames, didn't complete until March 2021. As such, Bethesda could have made platform partnerships prior to Microsoft taking over the business plan for Indiana Jones, all of which Microsoft would then be required to fulfill.
There's no indication that Indiana Jones will be a PlayStation exclusive, or anything of the sort. It does look like Indiana Jones will be a multiplatform release for both Xbox and PlayStation when it arrives, though. That's not such a bad thing for video game fans, but Xbox would certainly have preferred to have Indiana Jones as a console exclusive to draw players to the platform.
Xbox will still be able to capitalize on Indiana Jones in a variety of ways, of course. It should still be able to launch Indiana Jones on Xbox Game Pass as a day one release for both PC and Xbox, if it chooses to do so. As for when Indiana Jones can expect to hear more, the Xbox and Bethesda summer games showcase is planned for June 12. Indiana Jones could make an appearance there.
Indiana Jones is currently in development.