Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is one of the most anticipated upcoming Xbox Series X games out there right now. Developer MachineGames finally detailed the new Indiana Jones game after years of speculation, with the project first teased by Bethesda all the way back in 2021. Following the first gameplay reveal on January 18, we finally have some firm details of this original story being built in collaboration between Bethesda, Xbox, and Lucasfilm Games. Naturally, it features a lot of tomb raiding and Nazi killing – not that I'd expect anything less from the studio responsible for keeping the Wolfenstein series alive and well.
There's still a lot to learn about the game in advance of the Indiana Jones and the Great Circle release date, but below you'll find the most important information. There's information of the launch platforms and developer, as well as the first trailer and details on the story, setting, and gameplay experience. So what are you waiting for, keep reading to find everything you need to know about Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle release confirmed for 2024
MachineGames has set the Indiana Jones and the Great Circle release date for 2024. While we're still awaiting a firm date for the game, our first look at it in action was exceptionally promising – showcasing beautiful visuals, varied puzzle design, and combat which is authentic to how we've always seen the character portrayed in the films. Which is all to say that we're confident that Xbox will hold this 2024 release window.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle platforms
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is one of the most anticipated Xbox exclusives on the horizon. It's set to release as a console exclusive for Xbox Series X, and will also be available on PC. Like every other video game that is published by Xbox Game Studios, the new Indiana Jones game will also be available from the day of release as part of your Xbox Game Pass subscription. The reason Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is not coming to PS5 or PS4 is because developer MachineGames is now owned by Microsoft Gaming, following its $7.5 billion acquisition of Bethesda in 2021.
Is Indiana Jones and the Great Circle coming to PS5?
Microsoft has confirmed that there are no plans to bring the new Indiana Jones game to PS5. Addressing speculation at an Xbox Business Update, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said that while some Xbox titles will arrive on other platforms in the future, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle isn't one of them.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle developer
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is in development at MachineGames. The studio was founded in 2009 by former employees of Starbreeze Studios and quickly established its reputation for engineering some of the best FPS games of the last decade. MachineGames is best known for its work on the rebooted Wolfenstein franchise, and you can go back and read our Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus review to get a better sense of why it's one of the most outrageously creative shooters of its generation.
The new Indiana James is also being built in close collaboration with Lucasfilm Games, all in an effort to ensure that the Great Circle is authentic to the ethos which have driven the wider franchise since it debuted in 1981 with Raiders of the Lost Ark. The game is also being developed in collaboration with Bethesda Softworks' creative director Todd Howard – a lifelong fan of the Indiana Jones franchise who has come aboard the project as an executive producer now that he has wrapped work on Starfield.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle trailer
The debut Indiana Jones and the Great Circle gameplay trailer was revealed as part of the Xbox Developer Direct 2024 on January 18. As part of a wider 10-minute segment, members of the MachineGames development team shared insights into its love of the franchise and pulled the curtain back on its process. The segment concluded with a look at the game in action, revealing both the location and era for this new adventure – an original story filled with familiar characters and themes. You can watch the first Indiana Jones game trailer above.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle setting
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle takes place between between the Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade movies, an original adventure set throughout 1937. We know that the game will begin at the iconic Marshall College, an American university and liberal arts college in Bedford, Connecticut where Dr. Jones teaches as a professor of archaeology. From there, Indiana Jones will get his hooks into a new mystery and find himself traveling the globe for answers, from the Vatican in Rome to the pyramids of Egypt to the Himalayas and beyond.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle gameplay
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is an action-adventure game which promises no end of immersive action, intriguing puzzles, and all the punching Nazis in the face that you'd hope to see from an Indiana Jones game from Wolfenstein developer MachineGames. What's fantastic from our first look at the game in action is just how well the studio has captured the look, feel, and humor of the Indiana Jones character – the legendary archeologist as quick witted as he is quick to wield his whip when caught snooping by enemy patrols. MachineGames promises that you'll be able to use the whip to distract, disarm, and attack enemies, as well as use it to traverse the environment.
Interestingly, while Indiana Jones and the Great Circle primarily plays from first-person while you are stealthing around environments, solving fiendish puzzles, and evading deadly traps, the game will occasionally zoom out to third-person too – giving you a better perspective on your environment as Indiana Jones clambers around buildings and uses his whip to cross areas of the world. Like MachineGames' Wolfenstein: The New Order and Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, you'll also have your pick of how you want to approach encounters, combining stealth infiltration and fast first-person combat as you please. MachineGames may be dealing with one of the biggest properties in the world, but it's great to see that its immersive sim and stealth-action sensibilities haven't been dulled.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle story
The Indiana Jones and the Great Circle story will see you uncovering "one of history's greatest mysteries" as sinister forces scour the globe in search of an ancient power connected to the Great Circle. You'll forge alliances with old friends, meet some new faces, and go up against some familiar enemies in an original Indiana Jones adventure set between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade. A theft at the Marshall College kicks the adventure off, with Indiana heading off in search of the artifact he once believed to be unimportant before stumbling into the sort of action we're so used to seeing in the movies. We don't know much more just yet, but we can't wait to learn more.
