At the end of the second episode of Noclip’s video series on the history of MachineGames, studio head Jerk Gustafsson dropped a bit of a bombshell: The devs at MachineGames would like to make a direct sequel to 2017’s Wolfenstein: The New Colossus.
“We have always seen this as a trilogy,” said Gustafsson. “That journey for BJ, even during those first weeks at id, when we mapped out New Order, we still had the plan for at least [BJ], what would happen in the second one and what would happen in the third one.
“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.”
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It isn’t surprising that MachineGames would return to the series eventually: It’s a storied name not only in first person shooters, but also stealth and simulation going back to the Apple 2 original. What I wasn’t sure about was the direct continuation of the story and world begun in 2014’s Wolfenstein: The New Order.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle definitely scratched a similar itch to the story-centric but mechanically rich new Wolfensteins, but their story felt a little stalled-out in the meantime. Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus ended on an open, but potentially conclusive note, while the 2019 spinoff Youngblood jumped the story forward 20 years and centered on BJ Blazkowicz’s twin daughters.
A mainline follow-up would need to be an awkward interquel between Colossus and Youngblood, a continuation of the less-played and poorly-received spinoff, or some kind of timeline switchup/retcon—all challenging maneuvers for such a dramatic, narrative-focused series.
But I trust MachineGames has the chops to pull it off. Whatever form this sequel takes, though, expect to wait a good long while for it: MachineGames only just released Indiana Jones and the Great Circle’s story DLC, The Order of Giants.
