MachineGames studio head discusses hopes for Wolfenstein 3: ‘We have a story to tell’

While Xbox and Bethesda Softworks' MachineGames has recently returned from a visit to the world of Indiana Jones, the developer still hopes to revisit its brutal alternate-history Wolfenstein series with a third game.

That's per MachineGames studio head Jerk Gustafsson, who discussed the hopes to see a Wolfenstein 3 during a Noclip documentary discussing the team's work on the rebooted series.

"We have always seen this as a trilogy. That journey for BJ, even during those first weeks at id [Software] when we mapped out New Order, we still had the plan for at least that character, what would happen in the second one, what would happen in the third one," Gustafsson says.

"I think that's important to say because, at least I hope we're not done with Wolfenstein yet. We have a story to tell."

This documentary is part two of a three-part series, with the first entry focusing on the studio's origins and the upcoming (at the time I'm writing this) third portion shining a light on Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

MachineGames launched Wolfenstein: The New Order in 2014, reimagining the Wolfenstein series with a gripping plot and an introspective BJ Blazkowicz. The story continued with 2017's Wolfenstein: The New Colossus.

In 2019, the team launched a spinoff, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, which was co-developed with Arkane Lyon. Since then, Wolfenstein has lain dormant, but if Gustafsson's comments are any indication, players can still hold out hope for more in the future.

In 2024, MachineGames released Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, with Todd Howard from the team's brethren at Bethesda Game Studios serving as executive producer on the project.

MachineGames also frequently collaborates with id Software, sharing feedback and technical expertise on the proprietary id Tech engine. For Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, MachineGames opted to develop a fork of id Tech 7 called Motor, which introduced features like ray-traced lighting.

More Wolfenstein please, in games and TV

Naturally, this news is sweet music to my ears. I love the Wolfenstein reboots, and they have some truly phenomenal writing, with lines that still stick with me years later. Plus, reimagining BJ's story as a Jewish resistance fighter against a Nazi regime meant a lot to see.

I won't spoil it if you somehow still haven't played it (what are you doing, go play it) but Wolfenstein 2 in particular has some fierce and tender emotional moments.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was fantastic (it was my GOTY 2024 and I gave it high marks in my review, and I'm currently playing the recently-launched DLC expansion, The Order of Giants), so while I'm cautious about having such a wonderful studio perpetually caught up in work on licensed properties, I wouldn't mind seeing a sequel there.

I've also talked about how much I'd like to see Quake return with a new game, perhaps as a co-developed title between MachineGames and id Software.

Even with all of that, the possibility of Wolfenstein 3 is special. I really, really hope a trilogy pans out and we get one last adventure with BJ killing Nazis.

It would also coincide nicely with the report that a Wolfenstein TV series is in the works. While not official yet, the series is reportedly in development at Amazon MGM Studios, with Jonah Nolan and Lisa Joy of Kilter Films attached to produce.

This is part of the same team that's been behind the hugely successful Fallout TV series. The show garnered over one hundred million viewers as of last October, and a second season is set to premiere on December 17.