Back at the Xbox Developers Direct in January, the company revealed the upcoming game “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle”, with a tentative release date of “2024”. It’s now August, and with the months ticking away, fans were anticipating Xbox to reveal the release date at the annual “Gamescom” trade show this week, and the publisher did not disappoint: A new trailer revealed the game is now scheduled for release on December 9th, 2024.
But along with a reveal date, another key aspect was revealed: The game will now be coming to the PlayStation 5 in the Spring of 2025! Xbox exclusivity has come into question more and more over the last several months, as Xbox released 4 games to the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 earlier this year (the games included Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, Grounded and Sea of Thieves).
The addition of “Indiana Jones” to the list of titles that are no longer “Xbox exclusive” left several Xbox fans bewildered, as Xbox CEO Phil Spencer said back in March that Indiana Jones was NOT going to PlayStation. That statement, in retrospect, turned out to be that Indiana Jones was not one of the 4 initial titles announced as going to PlayStation or Nintendo. But that raises the question: What OTHER Xbox first party titles will possibly go to PlayStation or Nintendo systems in the months or years ahead? And with that in mind, what is the reason for owning an Xbox console, if this many games are going to other console ecosystems?
Phil Spencer gave a new statement this week in regards to the controversy: “It’s definitely true inside of Microsoft the bar is high for us in terms of the delivery we have to give back to the company. Because we get a level of support from the company that’s just amazing and what we’re able to go do.
“So I look at this, how can we make our games as strong as possible? Our platform continues to grow, on console, on PC, and on cloud. It’s just going to be a strategy that works for us.”
What it boils down to is: Xbox just paid $68 Billion to acquire Activision (and it’s numerous studios and franchises, including the acclaimed “Call of Duty” franchise) and is looking to recoup the costs as quick as possible. Xbox also no longer looks to consoles as it’s primary revenue source, as the main sales they’re trying to push is through Game Pass subscriptions (whether that’s on console or on PC). “Xbox exclusivity” is no longer a priority.
Leaving aside the PS5 shock, the latest trailer for the game still looks great:
Look for “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle” to be released on Xbox Series X and S consoles, and on PC, for purchase (or as part of your Game Pass subscription), on December 9th, 2024…and then on Playstation 5 in the Spring of 2025.
