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But Disney deal was multi-console prior to Microsoft’s Bethesda acquisition.
Speaking during today’s FTC hearing, Bethesda’s Pete Hines has confirmed the company’s upcoming Indiana Jones game will be exclusive to Xbox and PC, with the court being told a multi-console contract was amended following the company’s acquisition by Microsoft.
Bethesda announced its Indiana Jones game back in January 2021, confirming it was being developed by Wolfenstein studio MachineGames. However, it failed to make mention of the platforms it would target, a notable omission at the time given Microsoft’s then-impending $7.5bn USD acquisition of Bethesda and Zenimax.
Little has been heard of the game since that initial reveal, but it’s now burst back into the spotlight in something of an unexpected way – during a witness testimony from Bethesda’s head of global publishing Pete Hines, as part of US antitrust agency the FTC’s court proceedings to secure an injunction to block Microsoft’s $69bn Activision Blizzard deal.
As reported by The Verge, Hines told the court during questioning that Bethesda’s Indiana Jones title would be an Xbox and PC exclusive, and a day one release on Xbox Games Pass.
In the same hearing, the FTC’s counsel also revealed Disney had a signed a contract to release the game across multiple consoles, but that the deal was amended to make Indiana Jones an Xbox exclusive after Microsoft’s Bethesda acquisition.
Microsoft’s exclusivity plans for the games it stands to inherit should its proposed $69bn acquisition of Action Blizzard go through have, of course, remained a central concern as regulators around the world investigate the deal – with the consumer pulling power of Call of Duty proving to be a particular sticking point.
Starfield, Redfall, and Indiana Jones have all been repositioned as Xbox exclusives after Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda, and the FTC is arguing this pattern of behaviour could carry across to Activision Blizzard titles should the latest deal go through. If the FTC request for an injunction is successful, Microsoft has suggested it may walk away from the acquisition.
