[1] Set between the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), the story follows archaeologist Indiana Jones in 1937 as he attempts to thwart various groups who are seeking to harness a power connected to the Great Circle, which refers to mysterious sites around the world that form a perfect circle when together on a map.

Combat can either be directly engaged with or circumvented entirely through the use of stealth mechanics, and the character's signature whip can be used as both a weapon, or as a means for traversing across obstacles and solving various puzzles to uncover alternate paths and obscured collectibles.

[2] Jerk Gustafsson directed the game, composer Gordy Haab contributed original pieces and reinterpretations of classic themes from the films by John Williams.

Troy Baker provides the voice and motion capture of the titular character, whose likeness is otherwise based on Harrison Ford, who portrays him in the films.

The game received positive reviews from critics for Baker's performance of Jones, the gameplay, storyline, puzzles and combat mechanics.

The game is primarily played from a first-person perspective, but switches to a third-person view for cutscenes and certain gameplay actions, such as when Jones uses his whip to swing over gaps or when climbing pipes and walls.

Through exploration, players can also collect Adventure Books, which serve as permanent boosts in the game, improving weapon performance and durability, enhancing Indiana's combat skills, and increasing his health and stamina.

[10] Indiana will eventually unlock more tools for exploration and solving puzzles, such as a lighter for illuminiating dark areas and lighting torches,[11] and a rebreather that allows him to dive underwater for an extended period of time.

[12] The player can choose to use stealth tactics, crouching and hiding behind cover to avoid an enemy's line of sight, or quietly incapcitating them using a melee weapon picked up by Indiana.

[22][23] Like both films, the game takes place before the events of World War II, with the Axis powers (Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and the Empire of Japan) returning as antagonists.

Following the theft of an artifact from Marshall College by an imposing man known as Locus (Tony Todd), Jones heads to the Vatican to investigate.

He discovers that sites of spiritual significance have been built throughout history, realizing that their locations form a perfectly aligned circle around the globe.

Besides Vatican City, other locations include Peru, Connecticut, the Sukhothai temples in Thailand, the Egyptian pyramids, Shanghai in China, the snowy Himalayas, and the Ziggurat of Ur in Iraq.

Jones meets reporter Ginetta "Gina" Lombardi, who is investigating Voss for her sister Laura's disappearance; the two team up for their respective missions.

They discover that a tribe of giants called the "Nephilim Order" have been covertly working for the Catholic Church to protect the secret of the "Great Circle", with the cat mummy containing a special stone related to it.

Arriving at a Nazi dig in Giza, Jones learns the Order has been working with Egyptians for thousand of years prior to the Catholic Church's foundation.

At the last site for the Great Circle, the Ziggurat of Ur, Locus summons the Nephilim Order to attack the Nazis, allowing Jones to rescue Gina.

[28][29] Howard considered MachineGames an ideal company to develop the project because of its work on the Wolfenstein series, which involves a battle against Nazis, like the Indiana Jones franchise.

[30] Howard, an Indiana Jones fan, had previously pitched such a game to George Lucas around 2009,[32][33] although the project did not move forward at that time, partly because Bethesda did not have the resources to develop it.

[39][40] The title, story details, and first gameplay footage were unveiled on January 18, 2024, during Microsoft Gaming's Xbox Developer Direct video presentation.

[46] The game uses Indiana Jones actor Harrison Ford's likeness,[47] while Troy Baker provides voiceover work for the character.

[50] Other voice actors included Alessandra Mastronardi as Gina Lombardi, Marios Gavrilis as Emmerich Voss and Tony Todd as Locus.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was released on December 9, 2024 for Windows and Xbox Series X/S as a timed console exclusive.

[65][66] On the decision to pursue a PlayStation 5 version of the game after initially announcing it as an Xbox console exclusive, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer cited the strong reception to prior Xbox titles Pentiment, Grounded, Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves, which launched on PlayStation and Nintendo systems earlier in 2024.

Eurogamer's Katharine Castle wrote in a 5/5 review that The Great Circle is the best Indiana Jones adventure since Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), calling it "a rip-roaring, globetrotting tour de force that marries The Last Crusade's eye for fun, wit and slapstick humour with smart, player-driven investigations that really put you, as Indy, in the driving seat".

They also complimented the game's puzzles as being "well-designed" with a hint system that doesn't shout the answer at the player like some other AAA titles.

[83] Rick Lane's review in The Guardian praised the story's political message and relevance, writing that it "acutely dissects far-right ideology as a whole, and actively explores how aspiring autocrats build their power on the bodies of disaffected young men".

[85][86] Microsoft revealed Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was one of the games on Xbox with the highest single-day active users in 2024.