What you need to know
- The FTC is currently trying to obtain a Preliminary Injunction against Microsoft trying to buy Activision Blizzard.
- During the hearing, the FTC asked Bethesda Softworks' head of publishing Pete Hines about an upcoming Indiana Jones game being developed by MachineGames.
- The FTC alleged that the original contract with Disney was amended so the game would be Xbox exclusive and launch day one in Xbox Game Pass.
- Hines confirmed that this is the case.
We've got a bombshell reveal, not from any showcase, but from the hearing of the case Federal Trade Commission v. Microsoft Corp.
When questioning Bethesda Softworks' head of publishing Pete Hines, the FTC asked about MachineGames' upcoming Indiana Jones game. The FTC asked if the original contract ZeniMax Media signed with Disney stipulated a multiplatform release, and if the contract was amended after Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media for Xbox exclusivity and a day one Xbox Game Pass launch.
Pete Hines confirmed this is the case, meaning that in a very unconventional format, we now know that the Indiana Jones game will be an Xbox console exclusive. Naturally, the game will also be available on Windows PC.
Earlier in the year, the first Xbox exclusive game from Bethesda Softworks, Hi-Fi Rush, was announced and released on the same day. Bethesda Game Studios' upcoming science-fiction RPG Starfield is scheduled to arrive on Sep. 6, 2023.
Windows Central's take
With the timed PS5 console exclusive launches of Arkane Lyon's Deathloop and Tango Gameworks' Ghostwire: Tokyo firmly in the rearview mirror, the last remaining question around an upcoming multiplatform Bethesda game launch has been just what is going on with Indiana Jones. And just like that, now we know.
Originally, it was multiplatform, but Microsoft negotiated with Disney to get the contract amended, and it's an Xbox exclusive, and by extent, an Xbox Game Pass day one launch.
