Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is heading your way this December, meaning there's less than a month to wait now. This all-new game from Wolfenstein developer MachineGames is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated upcoming Xbox Series X games of the generation, with the studio collaborating with Skyrim, Fallout, and Starfield heavyweights Bethesda to deliver a timeless adventure for Indy fans big and small.
The project was first teased by Bethesda all the way back in 2021, confirming that it would be a first-person experience where players would take control of Indiana Jones in an adventure never before seen on film – with prolific voice actor Troy Baker filling in for Harrison Ford. With our first Indiana Jones and the Great Circle hands-on preview now under our belt, GR+'s own Heather Wald describing it as "an adventure where fistfights, exploration, and puzzling go hand in hand," it's safe to say that our excitement is reaching fever pitch.
Below you'll find details on the launch platforms we can expect for the new Indiana Jones game, intel on the game's development, as well as the first trailer and confirmed story details, setting, and gameplay experience we can expect when the new Indy game in just a few short weeks. Let's cut the chit-chat; here's everything you need to know about Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle release date
The Indiana Jones and the Great Circle release date has been set for December 9, 2024. The highly anticipated release from MachineGames and Bethesda will initially launch for Xbox Series X, Game Pass, and PC, and then will arrive on PS5 in Spring 2025.
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 – following the $7.5 billion acquisition of Bethesda in 2021 which MachineGames was a part of.
And if you're wondering whether Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will be on PS5, we're happy to announce that the title will land there in Spring 2025.
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 has 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. Sorry to all of you Fallout 5 fans, but Howard is focused on our favorite archaeologist for now.
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. However, fans got to see a newer teaser during the Xbox Games Showcase 2024. You can check out the latest Indiana Jones and the Great Circle trailer above.
During the clip, we see Indy cracking puzzles and discovering ruins from around the world in a very Uncharted kind of gameplay. Running for over five minutes, the trailer takes us to frozen shipwrecks, lush jungles and more as we see Indiana Jones searching for mysterious relics referred to as "the stones".
While the trailer had more cinematic shots than actual gameplay footage, it's still exciting to see Indy back in action and facing evil Nazis. Seeing a young Indiana Jones harks back to some of the best action movies of all time, and honestly, we can't wait to play.
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 archaeologist 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 sneaking 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 Marshall College kicks the adventure off, with Indiana heading off in search of artifacts he once believed to be unimportant before stumbling into the sort of action we're so used to seeing in the movies.
From the latest trailer, we know that a collection of mysterious stones have been placed around the globe in a perfect circle and that the Nazis are after them. Like the Lost Ark, we suspect that when together, these stones have some supernatural power. We'll keep you posted as more story details head our way.
For more future titles, head to our list of all the new games racing our way. Or, if you need a treasure-hunting fix, read our list of the best adventure games of all time.
