The next entry in the long-running first-person shooter franchise Wolfenstein may currently be in active development, as a mystery project was recently spotted in the works at developer MachineGames.
As suggested by the LinkedIn webpage for Teemu Kivikangas at MachineGames, the Senior Game Designer's profile states that he is currently the Lead Game Designer on "an unannounced project." The mystery project is, in fact, different from his role on the upcoming Indiana Jones video game. As such, the project is speculated to be Wolfenstein III due to MachineGames having developed the most recent Wolfenstein titles in addition to publisher Bethesda Softworks having explicitly stated their intentions for the game during a 2018 interview.
Should Wolfenstein III indeed be in the works, the game may release as an Xbox exclusive following the deal made between Xbox and Bethesda earlier this year. Bethesda's Pete Hines did, however, assure players on other platforms that the company isn't planning on having its titles cease to exist outside of Microsoft's latest console.
Wolfenstein III would mark the sixth game in the Nazi-hunting shooter series developed by MachineGames. The Swedish studio was given the rights by Id Software, the developer of 1992's classic Wolfenstein 3D, and proceeded to develop the franchise's first new entry in five years with the positively-received Wolfenstein: The New Order in 2014. MachineGames kept up the quality as the studio went on to develop the prequel DLC, The Old Blood, a year later as well as the sequel Wolfenstein: The New Colossus in 2017. More recently MachineGames has collaborated with Arkane Studios on the Wolfenstein: Youngblood spinoff in 2019 before later releasing the virtual reality side story Cyberpilot later that same day.
As for what MachineGames is likely focused on at the present, the developer currently has an untitled Indiana Jones game in the works, a game which may end up being an Xbox exclusive as well. The release date of the Indiana Jones game appears considerably far away, however. During an interview with Hines earlier this year, the Bethesda boss stated, "[MachineGames are] in the very, very, very early stages of working on the Indiana Jones game."
If the officially announced Indiana Jones game is still a ways away from release, players may be having to wait even longer for Wolfenstein III to finally drop. But if the developer's track record with the modern Wolfenstein games is anything to go by -- namely, the games' ability to balance absurd style with old-school FPS design -- BJ Blazkowicz's return will more than likely be worth the wait.
Source: LinkedIn via ComicBook.com