Wolfenstein 3 is officially in production at MachineGames, and B.J. Blazkowicz is coming back

It’s real. After years of fans asking and a rumor mill that never quite stopped, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma posted last night that “Wolfenstein 3 is officially in production at @MachineGames,” calling it “one of gaming’s most important franchises” and adding that she’s “looking forward to sharing more.” A few minutes later MachineGames followed up with a line that fits the series perfectly: “His reputation precedes him. Wolfenstein 3 is in production.”

The reveal landed as part of Xbox’s 25th anniversary celebrations on November 12, and it wasn’t a trailer. It was a page of script and a photo from the mocap stage.

What the script page shows

The page Sharma shared is headed “Chapter 01 – Nazitraz,” and Gematsu transcribed it: an interrogation cell, a table clock reading a couple of minutes before twelve, and B.J. leaning in close to a prisoner named Otto with a single word, “Hi.” Otto’s reaction, in German, is about what you’d expect from a Nazi who just realized who’s sitting across from him. Fergus is in the scene too, picking up the clock. That’s a fun detail, since whether Fergus or Wyatt survives depends on a choice you make early in The New Order.

Who’s back

MachineGames’ post included a behind-the-scenes shot of Debra Wilson, who played resistance leader Grace Walker in The New Colossus, recording motion capture. PC Gamer reports that Bethesda followed up to confirm Wilson is back as Grace and Brian Bloom returns as B.J. Blazkowicz. The Verge points out it’s been nearly a decade since Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus came out in 2017.

There’s no release window, no platforms and no trailer yet. VGC recalls that studio head Jerk Gustafsson told Noclip last year that MachineGames always saw B.J.’s story as a trilogy and that “we have a story to tell.”

PPR take: This one’s been a long time coming. The New Colossus ended with B.J.’s story clearly unfinished, and the studio has now spent years on Indiana Jones and the Great Circle while players kept asking about the third chapter. Back on October 31 we wrote about id Software working more closely with MachineGames than ever, and at the time neither studio would say a word about a sequel. Now we know. Getting Bloom and Wilson back matters a lot, because these games live on their characters as much as their gunplay. A script page and a mocap photo don’t tell us how far along it is, so I wouldn’t expect it anytime soon. Still, an opening chapter that starts with B.J. saying “Hi” to a terrified Nazi is exactly the tone I wanted.