Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Optimistic About Partnership With Disney And 'Indiana Jones And The Great Circle' Despite IP's Decline And Poor Early Sales Tracking
Xbox boss and the Gaming at Microsoft CEO Phil Spencer shared his optimism regarding the company’s partnership with Disney and specifically for the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Great Circle despite the decline of the Indiana Jones IP and Lucasfilm products at-large.
In an interview with Game File, Spencer shared his feelings about the partnership with Disney overall, “I feel great about our partnership with Lucas and Disney. They've been good partners. We're obviously doing Blade with Arkane Lyon with them. I was just out there visiting with that team.”
Speaking specifically to Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, he said, “I think what you see in Indiana Jones is a team that really loves Indiana Jones and that world.”
“The story is, to me, one of the strongest parts of that game--the way you feel like you're Indiana Jones from a first person perspective. So it's clear that's something they wanted to do,” he continued. “But, for us, given the [intellectual property] that we have that we own, I'm a big fan of us using the IP that we haven't even revisited.”
While Spencer might be feeling optimistic about the game due to developer Machine Games’ enthusiasm about the property and game, the Indiana Jones IP has been in significant decline since it came under the management of The Walt Disney Company.
The company’s most recent film, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which released in 2023, only grossed $174.4 million domestically and another $209.4 million internationally for a global gross of $383.9 million.
The film did not even recoup its production costs let alone its marketing budget. It cost an estimated $402.3 million.
Caroline Reid at Forbes noted the film lost Disney $134.2 million.
Furthermore, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle appears to be on a trajectory worse than Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The game currently only has 41,800 follows and is listed 28th on SteamDB’s Most Wishlisted Upcoming Steam Games list and 295th in top sellers despite being released in less than a month on December 9, 2024.
On top of this, the game has raised a number of red flags as well. The game’s Senior Narrative Designer Edward Curtis-Sivess detailed that the game was made for modern audiences during a promotion for the game back in January.
He said, “Now, we have the opportunity to tell a new Indiana Jones story for a modern gaming audience.”
Lucasfilm Games’ Craig Derrick described Indiana Jones’ new companion for the game, Gina Lombardi, as Jones’ intellectual equal.
He said in an interview on Lucasfilm.com, “Gina is the perfect ally for Indy. She’s endlessly curious, incredibly sharp, and has a personal stake in the journey. She not only challenges and assists the player but also serves as an intellectual equal to Indy, bringing depth to the adventure.”
“Gina adds a personal dimension to the story, making the journey about more than just finding another artifact for a museum. I believe players are really going to connect with her and root for her story,” he added.
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A trailer for the game also showed Lombardi talking down to Jones. She condescendingly informs him, “Okay then, let’s see if you can keep up.”
There’s also a short clip where it appears that she saves him from falling into a booby trapped pit by grabbing onto his jacket and yanking him to safety.
Still another red flag is the fact that the game will feature a trigger warning informing players that the Nazis committed war crimes.
According to Jordan Middler at Video Games Chronicle, the trigger warning states, “Please note that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a fictional story, inspired by historical events and characters. Names, characters, organizations, locations, and events are either imaginary or depicted in a fictionalized manner, not intended to disrespect any historical or cultural beliefs.”
It adds, “The story and contents of this game are not intended to and should not be construed in any way to condone, glorify, or endorse the beliefs, ideologies, events, actions, persons, or behavior of the Nazi and fascist regimes, nor any other regimes or to trivialize any war crimes, genocide, and other crimes against humanity.”
What do you make of Spencer’s optimism regarding Microsoft’s partnership with Disney despite all of the red flags for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle? Join as a paid member to leave a comment and support our journalism.
I could play it for "free" on game pass. Still going to wait for reviews from people I trust. If it is pushing a lot of woke BS, then I will not be adding to the player count.