This holiday season, gamers have a clear frontrunner: Indiana Jones. Microsoft’s gaming division, after years of strategic investments in developers and publishers, is poised for a major win. With no new generation of consoles hitting the market in the crucial fourth quarter of 2024, Xbox is perfectly positioned to capitalize on holiday spending with the highly anticipated december 9th release of ”Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.”
Developed by Bethesda’s MachineGames in collaboration with Lucasfilm, “Great Circle” has been in development for five years, generating immense excitement since its proclamation. The game’s origins predate Microsoft’s 2021 acquisition of Bethesda’s parent company, ZeniMax, further highlighting the long-term vision behind this project.
“I’ve been an Indiana Jones fan my entire life,” shared Todd Howard,director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios,who conceived the idea for “Indiana jones and the Great Circle,” in an interview with Variety. “When I saw the movie, I believed it was all real, and I was just enamored with ‘Raiders of the lost Ark’ since it came out. That movie has remained my favorite movie of all time. I named my dog Indiana. I got the jacket, I got all the stuff. I’ve loved the character and the world, which I think is important, that sort of pulpy adventure world of the ’30s, that kind of genre. And I’d always thought about what kind of game would I like to play in Indiana Jones? And I also like these mysteries of the world. I stumbled upon this one, which is the Great Circle — which is a thing, I didn’t invent it — that thought, this would be great for an Indiana Jones video game when I read about it, and thought about what the mystery could lead to.”
Howard initially pitched the concept to LucasArts in 2009,but publishing complications stalled the project. However, in 2019, Howard’s vision was revived when his friend John Drake, formerly of Sony and now at Disney’s gaming division, partnered with Lucasfilm Games to get “Great Circle” back on track.
“Indiana Jones and the Great Circle” is Xbox’s flagship title for 2024, following the accomplished October 25th launch of “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6,” the latest installment in the Activision-produced franchise. Acquired through Microsoft’s massive Activision Blizzard deal last year, “Black Ops 6” shattered franchise records with its opening weekend performance, maintaining its dominance since release.
Microsoft’s xbox is riding high on the success of its latest gaming releases, solidifying its position as a major player in the console wars. The company’s recent release of “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6” has propelled Xbox to the top spot in terms of player count, hours played, and total matches over the past month. While specific sales figures for “Black Ops 6” remain undisclosed, the release marks a meaningful milestone for the “call of Duty” franchise, which has now sold over 500 million copies.
This surge in popularity has given Xbox an edge over its longtime rival, PlayStation. “From a pure content perspective, we must conclude that Microsoft’s portfolio is now quite a bit stronger than Sony’s,” noted MoffettNathanson analyst Clay Griffin in a November 26 research report.
Adding to Xbox’s momentum is the highly anticipated release of “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle,” a first-person adventure game set after the events of the iconic 1981 film “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” This marks the first full-fledged Indiana Jones game greenlit by Lucasfilm Games. Players will embark on stealth missions, solve intricate puzzles, and experience over three hours of cinematic cutscenes that drive the narrative.Legendary voice actor Troy Baker, known for his role as Joel in PlayStation’s “The Last of Us” franchise, lends his talent to the iconic archaeologist.
“You really get to inhabit the world of Indiana Jones coming at the end of the year, going into the holidays,” says Matt Booty, Microsoft president of game content and studios. He contrasts the deliberate pace of “Great Circle” with the fast-paced action of “Black Ops,” suggesting that the Indiana Jones title is a perfect fit for the holiday season when players have more time to immerse themselves in a captivating story.
True to the spirit of the franchise, ”Great Circle” opens with a stunning set piece, according to game director Andreas Howard.”I wish we could spoil it. I would just say, if you’re an ‘Indiana Jones’ fan, it’s an opening you’ve wanted,” he teases. The game is filled with nods to the wider Indiana Jones universe, including a reference to Disneyland’s Indiana Jones Adventure ride. However, the developers emphasize the game’s deliberate pacing, focusing on exploration and puzzle-solving rather than constant action.
“The game is pretty slow in its pacing, because it is an adventure game, first and foremost, so we don’t rely so much on action. And I think we have a pacing where these cinematics really fit well into that,” explains MachineGames executive producer Jerk Gustafsson. “The game takes place between ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ and ‘The Last Crusade,’ so in that timeline. And we specifically looked at ‘Raiders’ because the character differs a little bit between the movies. What defines him in the game is his obsession with his work. Exploring the past and uncovering history, this led him to where ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ ends, and where ‘The Great Circle’ starts. And I think that’s been one of those key components that we have been working on for the character.”
With Harrison Ford, the 82-year-old star of the Indiana Jones films, not considered for the role due to the age difference, Lucasfilm Games had the final say in casting Troy Baker as the voice of the younger Dr. Jones. “that’s the place where we probably have the most input on these games,” says Lucasfilm Games vice president Douglas Reilly.
Get ready for a thrilling adventure as the iconic Indiana Jones whips his way onto gaming consoles in “Indiana Jones and the great Circle,” a highly anticipated title from Xbox Game Studios and MachineGames. Set to launch this holiday season,the game promises an immersive experience that captures the spirit of the beloved franchise.
“We don’t tell the teams how to run development. We don’t tell them how to run their day to day of the business. But when it comes to what touches the IPs, we are very much involved in making sure it looks, feels, sounds like Indiana Jones — so we approve casting. We get all the way through the process. We get concept art, to modeling, to final art and and obviously, with a game like this in particular, he is the character and you got to get him right, or else it doesn’t feel like an Indiana Jones experience. And between the work MachineGames did in representing him physically and the absolutely stunning work Troy has done voicing the character,you forget it’s not Harrison when you play it.He’s that good.” – Matt Booty, Head of Xbox game Studios
Following the footsteps of “Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War,” microsoft is making “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle” available to Xbox Game Pass subscribers at no extra cost. This move mirrors Netflix’s successful subscription model and aims to attract a wider audience. The game will initially be an Xbox and PC exclusive, with a PlayStation release scheduled for spring 2025. Players can also look forward to downloadable content (DLC) arriving sometime in the new year.
“We are very much making the [exclusivity and windowing] decisions on a game by game basis,” booty explained. “And each of our studios is in a little bit of a different position. There’s also the production timeline on a game, so the decision on spacing comes there first. We want to make sure there’s a great experience for our Xbox players, and than the gap between [when it becomes available on PlayStation] is as much a production decision as it is anything else. This is a game that was in production before we acquired Bethesda, even.”
This strategic shift away from the conventional console wars marks a new era for Xbox. As industry analyst, Michael Griffin, observes, Xbox’s focus on “moving up in the gaming value chain” through marquee titles like “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle,” alongside the expansion of Game Pass and cloud gaming, offers a more sustainable path to success than directly competing with nintendo or Sony.
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If “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle” proves to be a hit, it could pave the way for a larger Indiana Jones gaming franchise between Lucasfilm and MachineGames.”Right now, we’re focused on getting this one to the public and getting to the DLC and making this as successful as we can,” said game director, David Reilly. “I think we’re always looking for great stories. And the good news is, there’s a lot of space in between the films where we could tell more and more Indiana Jones stories that I think would be super captivating.”
With its compelling narrative, immersive gameplay, and the legendary Harrison ford lending his voice, “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle” has all the ingredients for a blockbuster gaming experience.
The upcoming “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” isn’t just the latest adventure for the iconic archaeologist; it’s also expanding the franchise’s lore with a new prequel series. Actor Harrison Ford, reprising his role as the whip-wielding hero, recently confirmed that the series will delve into Indy’s past, bridging the gap between “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”
“So canon is such a elaborate concept. It is an authentic story set between the two movies of ‘Raiders’ and ’The Last Crusade,'” Ford explained. “We work closely with the studio and franchise management. So yes, it is meant to be an authentic Indiana Jones experience, in that sense.”
While details about the prequel series remain under wraps, fans are eager to see how it will explore Indy’s formative years and shed light on the events that shaped him into the legendary adventurer we know and love.
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**Strengths:**
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