Indiana Jones And The Great Circle Trailer Puts You In Indy's Shoes For New First-Person Video Game
Three years after we learned of the game's existence, Bethesda and Lucasfilm Games are finally pulling back the curtain on the upcoming "Indiana Jones" video game. Revealed during the Xbox Developer Direct event, we now have the first gameplay trailer for "Indiana Jones and the Great Circle." We didn't even have a title previously, so even that is revealing. But we've got a lot more to chew on, starting with the trailer above.
Bethesda originally announced the game back in 2021 with a brief teaser trailer. This is, to say the least, far more comprehensive. The footage most certainly captures the feel of Steven Spielberg's films, with a John Williams-esque musical score providing a major assist. The other key thing is that the game is going to be a first-person experience, which will put the player more firmly in Indy's shoes, as opposed to a third-person experience. Whether or not that's the right call is up for the individual player to decide, but the trailer certainly looks impressive. We also have a new synopsis for the game, which reads as follows:
Uncover one of history's greatest mysteries in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, a first-person, single-player adventure set between the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade. The year is 1937, sinister forces are scouring the globe for the secret to an ancient power connected to the Great Circle, and only one person can stop them – Indiana Jones.
This game will indeed be set in the timeline of the original trilogy, which is significant. The project hails from MachineGames, the studio behind "Wolfenstein: The New Order" and "Wolfenstein: The New Colossus." It's also executive produced by Hall of Fame game designer Todd Howard ("Fallout").
A first-person Indiana Jones experience
Disney is leaning increasingly into video games as a way to make use of its biggest franchises. Lucasfilm is primarily (and understandably) known for "Star Wars." But "Indiana Jones" is a franchise well-suited to this realm as well, and has, up to this point, not been maximized in the gaming space. The benefit of a video game is that we can more easily be transported back to the character's classic era. Director James Mangold did quite a bit of that in "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," but it's costly to de-age Harrison Ford. That's not an issue in gaming.
Speaking of Ford, he won't be reprising his role in the game. Instead, Indy will be voiced by Troy Baker, who played Joel in "The Last of Us" games. In this trailer, he does a pretty convincing job. Game director Jerk Gustafsson had this to say about the game in a statement:
"There are a lot of Indiana Jones fans at MachineGames. Most of us grew up with Indy and fell in love with the movies and the character when we were young. We've just got these ties to the character that go back decades. But even if you didn't grow up with Indiana Jones, you know Indiana Jones. He's a relatable type of hero and a true adventurer. That's a legacy we want to share and be part of, and we want to build something interesting and genuine."
"Indiana Jones and the Great Circle" is set to arrive at some point in 2024. The game will be available on the Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC. It will also be available day one on Xbox Game Pass.