Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Is an Exception to Phil Spencer’s Caution Around Licensed Games

Licensed games can be a great way to build interest with a familiar property, but they can also be fraught as various stakeholders weigh in on its creative direction. Xbox CEO Phil Spencer is aware of these challenges, and they’re one reason he’s “not the biggest fan” of committing resources to licensed games.

Speaking with the Game File newsletter, Spencer talked about some of the “complexities” that come with making licensed games, especially when it comes to putting them on subscription or streaming services.

“We’ve seen it in racing games that have to get delisted, because you lose certain licenses,” Spencer said. “So I’m always very careful, if we’re going to take on a license, that we’re doing it for creative reasons, [that] the team has a goal around what they want to do.”

While Spencer didn’t name it explicitly, Ubisoft has cited “licensing constraints” as one of its reasons for delisting The Crew. Xbox’s own Forza Horizon games have likewise been delisted due to expiring licenses.

When it comes to Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which is being developed with input from Lucasfilm Games, Spencer say that MachineGames’ passion for the property was reason enough to take on the license.

“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,” Spencer said. “So it’s clear that’s something they wanted to do. 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.”

As for whether or not the Indiana Jones license might eventually expire, Spencer said, “I feel great about our partnership with Lucas and Disney, all up, on that. They’ve been good partners. We’re obviously doing Blade with Arkane Lyon with them. I was just out there visiting with that team.”

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is out December 9 for Xbox and PC, with the PS5 release set for spring 2025. You can read our full hands-on preview right here.

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.