September 13, 2018 No more need for speculation – Wolfenstein 3 is definitely happening.
Just in case you’ve missed the hints along the way, Wolfenstein 3 is coming. Not just Youngblood, not just another spin-off – an actual, proper, third entry in Machine Games’ rebooted series will happen. Publisher Bethesda has hinted that this would be the case several times over, but now Pete Hines, VP of PR and marketing, has confirmed it in no uncertain terms.
“Absolutely we’re making a Wolfenstein III,” Hines says. “They said on stage that they’re taking a break from the larger story to do this thing,” referencing the upcoming Wolfenstein: Youngblood. “But we all have to see how that ends.” Indeed, the end of Wolf 2 would prove an unsatisfying conclusion for the modern saga.
Part of the reason why fans were worried is because of reports of slow sales for Wolfenstein 2. In the full interview with Metro, Hines suggests those fears are overblown. He acknowledges that it could have “done better,” but it sounds like the game is still considered a success in Bethesda’s eyes.
Back at Geoff Keighley’s E3 YouTube stream, Hines confirmed that Youngblood is a side story, which “moves ahead in the timeline.” That allows players to “have fun with sort of a different story before they come back to the original storyline they’ve been working on.”
There was a lot to be read between the lines there, but today’s quote puts it in perspective. Hines’ wording implies that the third proper game will pick back up closer to the end of Wolfenstein II, and see how things progress from there. The details remain unclear, but we probably won’t see BJ flung into the 80s or later in the next game.
That still leaves us questioning Youngblood’s place in the timeline, though. If it’s part of the proper canon, that means the triumph we’d expect BJ to have against the Nazis in the third game might not be quite so complete as we’d expected, which may mean Youngblood is part of an alternate timeline.
We’ll likely find out for sure when Wolfenstein: Youngblood launches in 2019. Whatever comes next for the “original storyline” of the fight against the Nazis, it’ll be awhile before we find out the details.