Xbox Canceled Indiana Jones For PlayStation After Acquisition

MachineGames, the developer behind the Wolfenstein franchise, announced an Indiana Jones title in 2021. The beloved franchise debuted nearly four decades ago, and MachineGames is hoping to create the definitive gaming adaptation for the character.

However, Indiana Jones is a first-party title for Xbox, and it will not be released on PlayStation consoles. Recently it was revealed that this was not always the case, and Zenimax had an agreement with Disney for a multiplatform Indiana Jones game.

Following Microsoft’s purchase of Zenimax Media, the PlayStation version was canceled.

Why it matters: Exclusivity has become a controversial subject in the gaming industry. While Microsoft claims to bring games to more people, a few users are not happy that Xbox has canceled various Bethesda Softworks games for PlayStation.

FTC lawyer questioning Bethesda's Pete Hines confirms that Disney had a deal for an Indiana Jones game that'd be for multiple consoles. Hines confirms. FTC says deal was amended post-acquisition to be Xbox only for consoles.

— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) June 22, 2023

Previously, it was speculated that Indiana Jones would be released on all platforms.

However, Pete Hines from Bethesda confirmed Xbox exclusivity for the upcoming title. The game was announced a few months before the merger was completed, and Microsoft appears to have limited the game to Xbox consoles.

While discussing Microsoft’s reason behind the decision to make Indiana Jones an exclusive, Pete Hines mentioned commitments and deadlines when dealing with a licensor like Disney. He was also fond of bringing the title to Game Pass.

This is not the first example of Microsoft canceling a PlayStation version of a first-party game. Redfall’s Creative Director recently reported that Microsoft made the game exclusive to Xbox following the acquisition.

Still, Bethesda games like Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls Online are playable on all consoles. Xbox also honored existing timed-exclusivity agreements for Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo.

On the subject of exclusivity, The Elder Scrolls 6 was also mentioned during the recent court hearing. According to Phil Spencer, exclusivity for the game has not been decided yet, as it is still five years away.