Information is currently scarce on the upcoming Indiana Jones video game, but a rumored title could help provide a clue as to what the game is about. The project is in development at MachineGames, the studio behind the modern Wolfenstein games, so it’s certainly in the hands of people who know how to handle the classic Indiana Jones prerogative of killing Nazis. A 1930s setting makes it seem likely that this element will be included, but most other aspects have been subject to only loose speculation.
Although it’s been a while since the last Indiana Jones game, the franchise has a long history when it comes to adaptations. LucasArts titles like Indiana Jones and The Fate of Atlantis set a high bar for movie tie-in titles, and even entries that have aged more awkwardly like Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine can be plenty of fun today. Like many properties, there are also a couple of LEGO Indiana Jones games that take an irreverent approach to mining amusement from the film’s setpieces and stories.
Indiana Jones Game Might Be A Hollow Earth Story
X (formerly Twitter) user Kurakasis uncovered several newly registered domain names by Lucasfilm, all of which center around the title Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. The game is expected to be showcased at an upcoming Xbox Developer Direct on January 18, so the timing of this reveal looks very promising.
The title seems to reference the geometric principle of a great circle, the circle that forms when a plane intersects a sphere through its center point, creating two equal hemispheres. It’s possible that this could gesture toward the Hollow Earth theory, which posits an empty space inside the Earth that’s been the subject of much speculative fiction.
The Hollow Earth Fits Indiana Jones Perfectly
The Indiana Jones franchise has always had a penchant for tossing fantastical elements into its adventures, and this wouldn’t even be the first time that the Hollow Earth concept was explored. Max McCoy, the author of some of the most well-received Indiana Jones tie-in novels, wrote Indiana Jones and the Hollow Earth in 1997. This isn’t likely to be a direct adaptation of the book, as a 1937 ticket to Rome shown in a teaser available on IGN‘s YouTube channel indicates a difference in setting, but there’s always some potential for references to prior Indiana Jones media in the game.
The idea that the upcoming Indiana Jones game delves into a Hollow Earth is certainly no guarantee, as the title is both unconfirmed and only vaguely indicative of potential subject matter. The teaser trailer referenced “ancient circles” and “forbidden stones“, so the great circle could simply refer to an ancient stone circle, but even that would likely only be a part of a greater and more speculative concept at play. Regardless, the upcoming Xbox Developer Direct should answer core questions about the Indiana Jones game, and perhaps confirm the title and general plot once and for all.
Sources: Kurakasis/X, IGN/YouTube
