Bethesda's Todd Howard Has Been Trying To Make An Indiana Jones Game Since 2009
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Featured Image Credit: Lucasfilm, Matt Grandstaff via Wikipedia
The announcement that MachineGames is at the helm of a new Indiana Jones game has us oh-so-excited to see what the Wolfenstein studio does with the IP. However, it happens that a famous face in the industry has been hankering after an Indiana Jones game for years now.
Todd Howard, studio director for Bethesda, is a huge fan of the series of movies and couldn't believe his luck when Lucasfilm granted MachineGames the rights to develop an adventure for the archaeology boffin to embark upon. "[I'm] super-excited!" said Howard in an interview with The Telegraph, and he apparently pointed towards the replica of the Ark of the Covenant from Raiders of the Lost Ark that sits on a shelf in his office to emphasise his excitement. Indeed, this little collectible was spotted by a number of fans, but it didn't have any bearing on the incoming news of a new Indiana Jones game.
It's not our fault that we've started zooming in on every photo and video uploaded by VIPs in the industry. Hiding clues in plain sight is an age-old practice in gaming, but it spiraled out of control with Xbox's Phil Spencer, who hid an Xbox Series S on a bookshelf to show how dinky the second new-gen console is long before the official reveal was set to go live. Then, in an advert for the Xbox Series X and Series S, actor Daniel Kaluuya was wearing the newest wireless headset for the console before that bit of tech had been announced. Since then, everyone's been scanning every shelf, cupboard, desk, painting, table and so on for an insight into what's next.
During E3 2021, Xbox and Bethesda came out firing on all cylinders for its conference and some of these new games look absolutely tip top. Check out the debut trailer for Redfall, an upcoming supernatural-horror title from the developer of Dishonored.
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Moral of the story: don't put too much thought into the nerdy knick knacks on desks. Let people enjoy things without worrying they're accidentally announcing Half-Life 3. "I think I originally pitched [to George] Lucas in 2009, and I've been trying to find a way to make that [since]," continued Howard. So this game has technically been on Todd's mind for more than a decade. Jeez. "And I think the work MachineGames have done, they're just phenomenal developers and storytellers. And when I started talking to them about it, it was a good fit. And we got the opportunity to talk to Lucas and Disney about it and they were super excited."
To conclude, it looks like the game is off to a promising start, and I'm certain that it will break the internet when we finally get a glimpse of the new Indiana Jones. Of course, there's the new movie on the horizon, too, though the filming schedule has been rejigged following Harrison Ford's recent shoulder injury.
