Wolfenstein Dev Confirms: “We Have a Story to Tell”
Despite being busy with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, MachineGames studio head Jerk Gustafsson has clarified that their work on the Wolfenstein series is not yet over, confirming the series was always planned as a trilogy. This has reignited hope that a third mainline game, a direct sequel to Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, is on the horizon.
A Trilogy Was Always in the Cards
Speaking in the latest episode of Noclip’s documentary series on the history of MachineGames, co-founder and studio head Jerk Gustafsson stated that the studio always envisioned the core Wolfenstein series as a trilogy, and its third chapter remains to be developed.
Gustafsson summarized the journey of protagonist B.J. Blazkowicz so far:
The first game is very much about B.J. and how he understands that the Nazis have won the war, but it’s also a very personal journey for him. He meets Anya, and he starts to see that there are other things at play as well, not only fighting Nazis. In The New Colossus, we move into a wider group of people around you, being part of the resistance, something bigger and something also like a family to you, but at the same time you’re also preparing to start your own family.
Gustafsson emphasized that this narrative arc was planned from the very beginning. “We have always seen this as a trilogy. That journey for B.J., even during those first weeks at id [Software] when we mapped out New Order, we had the plan for, at least, that character: what will happen in the second one, what will happen in the third one,” he said, adding: ”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.”
The Studio’s Other Projects and the Future of the Series
MachineGames successfully rebooted the series with Wolfenstein: The New Order in 2014 and its sequel Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus in 2017. Alongside these two mainline games, the studio also developed a prequel, a spin-off, and a VR experience. The last major release in the franchise was 2019’s Wolfenstein: Youngblood, a co-op spin-off co-developed with Arkane Lyon, which received a mixed reception from critics and fans.
Since then, MachineGames has been focused on developing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. While the studio will likely be engaged with the Indiana Jones franchise for the foreseeable future, it seems we’ll just have to wait a bit longer to see the conclusion of B.J.’s story.