Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: release date window, trailers, gameplay, and more

The initial trailer for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle reintroduces us to Indy, who, as you would expect, finds himself neck-deep in trouble (literally). The trailer stays quite vague on details, but the developer commentary from the Developer Direct event where it was shown filled us in on the basics of the game’s plot.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will take place between the films Raiders of the Lost Arc and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. After realizing a seemingly unimportant artifact was stolen, Indy will go looking for answers as to why. This promises to lead him into a greater mystery and conspiracy that will unravel throughout the course of the game. While that is the bulk of what we know now, we do know that Nazis will be involved and it will be up to us to stop whatever they are planning.

The next look we got at Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was during the Xbox Games Showcase in 2024. It was almost entirely cinematic and set up a few plot points. We already knew Indy would be on the trail of a stolen artifact, but now we know this is one of many he needs to find. The locations he will need to travel to all form a circle on the globe, hence the game’s title. This trailer focuses on the Himalayas.

Exploring a frozen battleship, Indy and investigative reporter Gina Lombardi find what they’re looking for only to be quickly ambushed by Nazis. In traditional Indiana Jones fashion, Indy and the big bad quip at each other for a few moments while Gina gets into position to toss a grenade and cause some chaos so Indy can fight back.

There was plenty of debate about whether or not Indiana Jones and the Great Circle would be a third-person game. Our first look cleared that mystery up very quickly, confirming that the game will almost entirely be in first-person. The only exceptions are cutscenes and when performing traversal actions like climbing around the environment. This makes sense as the developers are most experienced in creating first-person titles and wanted to really put players in the shoes of Indiana Jones.

Combat so far consists of melee fighting with bare fists, a frying pan, using your whip, and pulling out a trusty pistol to blast away enemies. No other weapons were shown (with the exception of a machine gun mounted to a plane during a set piece), so it is unclear if you will stick with these core tools or swap out firearms as you go. Some moments of platforming and exploration also are featured, and will likely be used to break up the combat and set-piece moments.

Puzzles are another big component of the game. We see glimpses of Indy exploring ancient ruins and interacting with various contraptions in order to progress.