Bethesda Rumored to be Working on a Game Under the "Disney Banner"
What Disney IP would Bethesda tackle?
Earlier this month, a leaked document revealed much of Bethesda's roadmap for the future, and included something listed as a "licensed IP game." The list already included Bethesda's Indiana Jones game, so this would be something else entirely. That document has led to a lot of speculation among fans, and it seems that the game could fall under the "Disney banner." That claim comes from leaker Shpeshal Nick, who said it on a recent episode of the Xbox Era podcast. As with any rumor, readers should take this with a grain of salt pending an official announcement!
If Bethesda truly is working on a Disney property, it will be interesting to see which one. Disney has no shortage of properties that could be given the video game treatment, and there are now so many IPs that fall under the "Disney banner." It could be a game based on Disney and Pixar films, Marvel Comics or the MCU, Alien, Tron, Avatar, Star Wars... or it could be something much more obscure! Whatever it ends up being, hopefully it will prove a strong fit for the company.
Disney Games
Bethesda's mystery IP could be just about anything, but it's worth noting that a lot of different developers and publishers are currently working on Disney properties. Gameloft has found a lot of success with Disney Dreamlight Valley and Disney Speedstorm, two games that feature a mix of characters from various animated properties. Ubisoft has Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora coming in December and Star Wars: Outlaws in 2024. Alongside EA's Star Wars Jedi series, there's no shortage of Star Wars games at the moment, so it's possible Bethesda might not jump into that mix. That said, a game based on The Mandalorian could be a strong fit for the company!
In terms of Marvel games, Skydance Media has a Captain America/Black Panther game in development. Insomniac is releasing Marvel's Spider-Man 2 on PS5 next month, and Marvel's Wolverine is also in development. Given how big the Marvel's Spider-Man games have been for PlayStation, it's possible Bethesda could have a team working on a Marvel exclusive for Xbox. Unfortunately, there's no way of knowing for sure, and this is all just speculation until we get some kind of announcement!
Bethesda's Indiana Jones
![indiana-jones-xbox.jpg indiana-jones-xbox.jpg](https://sportshub.cbsistatic.com/i/2023/08/29/4a9f6886-0d9d-42bd-89b7-c30c3226249f/indiana-jones-xbox.jpg?auto=webp&width=1200&height=675&crop=1.778:1,smart)
While Bethesda's Disney game is nothing more than a rumor at this time, the company's Indiana Jones game (also a Disney property) is very much real, and will be an Xbox exclusive. Announced back in 2021, the game does not currently have a release window or even a title. Indiana Jones is in development from MachineGames, the studio responsible for the Wolfenstein series. In a recent interview with GQ UK, executive producer Todd Howard revealed that the game is currently "midway" through development. Howard also noted that MachineGames has "got the whole Nazi killing thing down, and they're doing a really great job."
Would you like to see Bethesda tackle a Disney property? What Disney IP do you think would be a good match for the company? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
[H/T: Reddit]