Microsoft’s gaming boss has hinted at a future for the Indiana Jones franchise within Xbox Game Studios, following the positively received release of The Great Circle.
MachineGames’ Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was released for Xbox and PC in December to positive reviews, amassing over four million players, according to Microsoft.
With MachineGames currently working on DLC for the game, and a PlayStation 5 version releasing this week, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer was asked by Variety whether the company has larger plans for ‘Indy’.
“I will say, we’re really happy with ‘Indy’ and the players and the reception,” Spencer responded. “We do think there’s life in that franchise, and I’m just gonna leave it at that. We’re launching on PlayStation here pretty soon. I think that’ll be a cool moment.”
He continued: “I was really inspired by Machine Games taking someone else’s IP and doing something so unique, and I’m inspired about what that team can do next. Certain people were kind of pushing them on the first person versus third person. And I think once you play it, you realize you are Indy.
“But going forward, I also want to give the teams the ability to do our own games and our own franchises. We have a lot of room to tell new stories, as well. And I want to make sure that’s an option for us.”
The single-player, first-person game is set in 1937, between the events of the Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade films.
It sees players embark on a globetrotting adventure to stop sinister forces from uncovering and harnessing an ancient power connected to the Great Circle.
Developer MachineGames is currently working on story DLC for the game called The Order of the Giants, which will launch in 2025.
The boss of Lucasfilm Games, Douglas Reilly, also recently said it would be “super interesting” to “tell more and more Indiana Jones stories”. “I think we’re always looking for great stories,” he said. “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 interesting.”
