Indiana Jones and the Great Circle's developers, MachineGames, have confirmed that players won't be able to harm dogs in their upcoming game. Read on to learn more about this decision and other details about the game.

No Dogs Will Be Harmed in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle“Indiana Jones is a Dog Person,” Said MachineGames’ Creative Director

In recent years, video games haven’t shied away from depicting violence against animals. From the Nazi dogs in Wolfenstein to the rabid wolves in Resident Evil 4, players often have to eliminate these creatures as part of the gameplay. However, with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, developer MachineGames is taking a different approach.

"Indiana Jones is a dog person," MachineGames Creative Director Jens Andersson said in an interview with IGN. Despite the gritty, sometimes intense nature of Indiana Jones’ adventures, the developers have chosen a path where Indy, while able to brawl and battle human enemies, encounters dogs in ways that don’t harm them—a departure from their previous titles, like Wolfenstein, where combat against animals was fair game.

"It’s a family-friendly IP in many ways," Andersson said. "How do we do that well? Well, these are the kind of things that we do. We have dogs as enemies, but you don’t really hurt the dogs. You scare them away."

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is set for release on December 9th on Xbox Series X|S and PC, with a tentative release date of Spring 2025 for the PS5. Taking place in 1937, between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, the story begins with Indy tracking artifacts stolen from Marshall College. His journey leads him from the Vatican to the Egyptian pyramids, and even to the submerged temples of Sukhothai.

Indy’s whip isn’t just a traversal tool; it also serves as a weapon for him to disarm and beat up enemies as he sneaks through open-world-inspired maps. And for dog lovers, there’s no need to worry—based on the developers’ comments, no dogs will face the end of Indy’s whip on this adventure.

For more on Indiana Jones and the Great Circle’s gameplay, you can check out our article below!