Summary
Bethesda’s mysterious licensed IP game is based on a Disney property, a well-known leaker has said. The existence of the unannounced title was recentlyrevealed as part of the massive Xbox leakwhich saw Microsoft accidentally upload a vast amount of its trade secrets to the website of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Among many other things, the unredacted documents contained a five-year title release schedule and revenue forecast from ZeniMax Media, which Microsoft acquired in early 2021. The roadmap revealed thatremasters ofFallout 3andThe Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivionwere in the works back in 2019, as was an untitled game based on a licensed IP. The same document, created in 2019, confirmed that the title in question isn’t theIndiana Jonesadaptation from Bethesda and MachineGames, as that project was listed separately.
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Be that as it may, the unannounced project shares a connection with theIndiana Jonesgame in that they are both based on Disney properties, industry insider Nick Baker revealed during the latest episode ofThe XboxEra Podcast, citing an unnamed source. The leaker did not elaborate on that claim, beyond acknowledging that a Disney IP doesn’t exactly narrow down the pool of potential intellectual property candidates for Bethesda’s upcoming project. Baker previously reported thata game based onThe Mandalorianwas in the pipelineno later than early 2022, but even if that’s accurate, that’s feasibly far from the only Disney property that’s currently slated to receive an interactive adaptation.
The leaked ZeniMax roadmap saw the company predict that the mysterious licensed IP game fromBethesdawill release during its fiscal year 2024. Whether the project is still on course to meet its stated launch window target is dubious, not least because plenty of other titles mentioned in the leak did not. For example, the 2019 forecast revealed that ZeniMax was expecting both theIndiana Jonesgame andOblivionremaster to hit the market in 2022.
Regardless of whether the upcoming title is based on another Disney property or not, this recent turn of events seemingly validates a mid-2021report stating that Bethesda is working on at least one unannounced game. What’s still unclear is who exactly is leading the development of the alleged Disney title; Bethesda recently confirmed thatThe Elder Scrolls 6finally entered early production following the release ofStarfield, with that project now presumably preoccupying its main team in Rockville, Maryland.
The company also has satellite offices in Dallas and Montreal, both of which have so far mostly played supporting roles in its non-mobile projects. One other option is Bethesda Game Studios Austin, credited for its work on the 2016DoomandFallout 76.
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