Most anti-Nazi game ever to get new sequel from Indiana Jones devs claim rumours

MachineGames is rumoured to be working on two new games, including a Rainbow Six Siege style multiplayer title.

Way back in 2018, Bethesda’s then vice president of PR and marketing, Pete Hines, all but confirmed that a Wolfenstein 3 would happen, despite 2017’s Wolfenstein 2 not performing as well as hoped – in large part because of an unwisely chosen Christmas release date.

We did get the Wolfenstein: Youngblood and Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot spin-offs in 2019 but they weren’t big hits either and since then Hines has left the company, Bethesda was acquired by Microsoft, and series developer MachineGames has been occupied with the Quake remasters and its Indiana Jones game.

However, it seems Wolfenstein 3 could finally see a formal announcement later this year, with new rumours alleging that the game is in development; something that was previously hinted at by various job listings.

In a recent report about Xbox’s plans for 2026, Windows Central claimed that MachineGames is currently working on both Wolfenstein 3 and a separate multiplayer project, something in the vein of Rainbow Six Siege.

The existence of Wolfenstein 3 was later verified by Kotaku, although there were no further details. Apparently, the plan is for it to coincide with the Wolfenstein TV show that’s in the works at Amazon, which makes sense since the Fallout games saw a massive boost in popularity thanks to the success of Amazon’s Fallout show.

What is Wolfenstein?

The original Wolfenstein 3D, from 1992, was the first widely successful first person shooter and paved the way for Doom, also from id Software. It received various sequels and reboots over the years but the last two games, from MachineGames, were set in an alternate history where the Nazis won the Second World War.

Although they’re technically reboots you still control protagonist B. J. Blazkowicz, as you join a resistance movement in the US. While purposefully absurd at times, the series’ refreshingly blunt social commentary has only become more relevant over time.

Frankly, it’s hard to imagine a TV show that would be anywhere near as forthright (or purposefully weird) and even a new game is likely to cause considerable controversy – which is perhaps what Bethesda, and ultimately Microsoft, is banking on.

MachineGames has kept up its tradition of fighting Nazis with Indiana Jones And The Great Circle, but Wolfenstein makes a point of dissecting how monstrous their ideology is and has you deal with them far more violently than Indy does. So, it will be interesting to see how such an aggressively anti-Nazi game fares in the current political climate.

Curiously, the rumours make no mention of anything Quake related. After contributing new expansions to the remasters, there have been clear signs MachineGames is working on a new entry in the series.

Old job listings from 2021 specifically mentioned multiplayer and a teaser for Indiana Jones had a clear reference to Quake. So it certainly seems that, up until quite recently, the plan was to make a Quake reboot. Perhaps those plans have been cancelled though or the Rainbow Six-esque game is secretly Quake related.

Alternatively, the same Windows Central report suggests that id Software could return to make a new Quake game. After last year’s Doom: The Dark Ages it’s not clear what they’re working on now but whatever it is, it’s likely to be a way off.

Whatever the case, there’s a very good chance MachineGames’ next project will be announced this year, since 2026 marks Bethesda’s 40th anniversary. No doubt the company will want to have at least one big reveal for that occasion.

As for when such a reveal could be made, there is an Xbox showcase taking place this month, though an exact date hasn’t been specified. There’s also QuakeCon, Bethesda’s own annual event, in August.

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