In a dizzying turn of events, Bethesda’s Pete Hines has confirmed following conversations with Xbox boss Phil Spencer that it will be an exclusive. Originally announced in 2021 the game which is being worked on by Wolfenstein: The New Order developer MachineGames, has up until now, been believed to be a multiplatform title. It was only last month that Windows Central’s Jez Corden reiterated that it still would be but as the drama with Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal continues, plus Lucasfilm’s (as the IP licensor) involvement adding to development time and costs, and concerns over more players to Xbox Game Pass, Bethesda’s Pete Hines is indicating differently after conferring with Phil Spencer.
From Pete Hines (via IGN):
“You’re dealing with a licensor who is giving a ton of feedback on what you’re making, is going to add a ton of time to your scheduling, these agreements, you don’t get to take as long as you want, you have a window of time in which you’re going to release a game, you immediately have a clock that’s ticking on you,” Hines said.
“Truthfully, we also kind of liked the idea of embracing, bringing it to Game Pass and how many players we could get there,” Hines said.
Conversations between the multiple Execs happened during the recent FCC hearings regarding the Microsoft/Activision merger. Phil Spencer added that Lucasfilm did want the title to be on multiple platforms. The original deal with ZeniMax included that detail but it has been amended following Bethesda’s acquisition by Microsoft. Rather than using a blanket approach in regard to continued Bethesda titles being exclusive Hines said that Spencer called him to add that each should be looked at on a case-by-case basis. It only made sense for Bethesda’s next big project, Starfield to be multiplatform due to the missing lack of added costs due to the involvement of a licensor. Ironically Starfield‘s director and executive producer Todd Howard previously stated it would result in it being a better game in being an Xbox exclusive. Todd Howard is also serving as the executive director for the Indiana Jones game.
No release date for the Indiana Jones game has been announced yet but according to this latest information it will be exclusive to Xbox and PC (via day one on Xbox Games Pass).