Wolfenstein 3 is officially in production at MachineGames, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced Thursday at the Seattle finale of Xbox’s 25th-anniversary FanFest tour, and Bethesda’s announcement page shows actors Brian Bloom and Debra Wilson in motion-capture suits. It is the first mainline Wolfenstein game since 2017, but Xbox’s recap lists no platform or release window, and no gameplay footage was shown, so the news confirms that work is under way, not that a launch is close.

The FanFest event closed an eight-city tour, according to Xbox Wire’s recap. Sharma posted the news on X, and the recap quotes her saying the series holds an important place in gaming history and that she is excited to see the team continue its story. MachineGames followed with its own post: “His reputation precedes him. Wolfenstein 3 is in production.”

Bethesda Photo Shows Brian Bloom and Debra Wilson in Capture Suits

Both posts carried a photo of a script confirming BJ Blazkowicz returns, the series protagonist. Push Square reports that the first chapter on the page is called Nazitraz. MachineGames also shared a behind-the-scenes photo of Bloom with Wilson, and Bethesda’s page labels the image as the two actors in mocap suits.

Bloom plays BJ, and Wilson plays Grace Walker, the Black Power activist BJ recruits in Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. Bloom also provided voice and motion capture for BJ in that game.

Performance Capture Explained: What the Suit Photo Does and Does Not Show

Motion capture maps a live performer’s movement onto a three-dimensional character model, and when it records facial expression and full-body performance together it is often called performance capture. In the passive optical systems common in games and film, performers wear suits fitted with reflective markers that infrared cameras track. Marker-based optical capture is regarded as the most accurate method, but it needs a controlled, calibrated space, and one industry guide puts marker setup and calibration at one to two hours per session.

Neither MachineGames nor Bethesda has said which capture system the studio uses; the photo shows suits, not hardware. A casting call reported by MP1st in February, which the studio has not confirmed, said capture would begin in April, with additional shooting dates later in 2026 and extending into 2027. If that schedule is accurate, performers were still being recorded months ago and may be recorded again next year, which fits a game in the middle of production, not one near release.

When Does Wolfenstein 3 Come Out? Xbox Has Not Said

The announcement materials list no platforms and no release window, and no footage was shown; the only visuals are a script page and capture photo. In February, studio director Jerk Gustafsson told GamesIndustry.biz that MachineGames always intended to return to Wolfenstein and finish the trilogy, without commenting on timing. He also said the studio must justify the business side of its projects to Xbox and Microsoft.

Amazon MGM Studios has a Wolfenstein TV series in development, Variety reported in July 2025. Windows Central’s Jez Corden said in January that he had heard the game was planned to coincide with the show, per Nintendo Life’s coverage, a timing link that remains an unconfirmed report.

Will Wolfenstein 3 Need a Ray-Tracing GPU? Indiana Jones Offers a Clue

MachineGames has not announced an engine. It built The New Order on id Tech 5 and The New Colossus on id Tech 6, after a complete overhaul of technology and animation. Its latest game, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, ran on a studio-customized branch of id Tech 7 called Motor.

That game required a ray-tracing-capable GPU even at its lowest preset, with the RTX 2060 Super, RX 6600 and Arc A580 listed as minimum cards for 1080p at low settings. Its full ray-tracing mode raised the minimum to an RTX 4070 with 12 GB of video memory. Whether Wolfenstein 3 shares that engine or that hardware floor is unknown; until Bethesda publishes system requirements, those figures describe the studio’s last game, not this one.

BJ Blazkowicz Ends Wolfenstein II as Revolutionary and Expectant Father

BJ is a war veteran in a 1961 alternate history in which the Nazis won World War II. Wolfenstein II ends with him helping spark a revolution to retake occupied America, with Anya pregnant with twins and a proposal in the post-credits scene. The game opens with a crippled BJ killing Nazi soldiers while controlling a wheelchair, a scene creative director Jens Matthies described as proof of the character’s willpower.

Gustafsson told Noclip last year that the studio always saw the series as a trilogy, with BJ’s arc mapped from the first game: a personal journey, then a wider resistance that feels like family. The team has described an over-the-top game with intimate characters. Wolfenstein 3’s own story has not been announced, so how that arc ends remains open. Since the 2017 sequel, MachineGames released the 2019 spin-offs, including the co-op shooter Wolfenstein: Youngblood, which VGC says received mixed reception, and then turned to Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

Germany’s Social Adequacy Clause Changed How Wolfenstein Ships There

In Germany, the 2017 release of The New Colossus shipped without swastikas or Hitler’s mustache. Germany’s ratings body, USK, changed its practice in August 2018 so that games depicting symbols of unconstitutional organizations can be assessed case by case under the social adequacy clause of Section 86a of the criminal code. Youngblood and its VR companion Cyberpilot were the first Wolfenstein games assessed that way, though major German retailers declined to stock the uncensored version. No rating for Wolfenstein 3 has been announced.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma Has Said Human Storytellers Matter in Xbox Games

Sharma was president of Microsoft’s CoreAI product group before becoming gaming CEO in February, a background that prompted concerns about AI in games. She told Variety she has “no tolerance for bad AI,” while saying AI has long been part of gaming and that humans create great stories. The Bethesda announcement materials for Wolfenstein 3 show a script page and two human performers in capture suits; they do not address whether generative AI will be used in the game’s production.

id Software Next Game Follows Xbox Layoffs, VGC Notes

In the same announcement run, Sharma confirmed that id Software is working on its next game, with Hugo Martin returning as game director. VGC notes that the news comes after Xbox layoffs, in which 136 workers lost their jobs. The announcements also coincided with Bethesda’s 40th anniversary. Xbox’s recap also covered a free Firefight mode this winter for Halo: Campaign Evolved, new Fable gameplay and a DOOM: The Dark Ages Slaughter Mode that is scheduled for November 16.

Wolfenstein 3 is confirmed but undated: no platform, window, footage or engine has been announced, and the only evidence of progress is a script page and a capture-suit photo. Sharma wrote that she is looking forward to sharing more, and no timing for further news has been announced.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is in the Wolfenstein 3 cast?

Brian Bloom and Debra Wilson are reprising their roles as BJ Blazkowicz and Grace Walker, according to MachineGames and Bethesda. The announcement materials name only those two actors.

Does Wolfenstein 3 finish the trilogy?

Gustafsson has said MachineGames saw the series as a trilogy and wanted to finish it, but the studio has not described Wolfenstein 3 as the final chapter or revealed its story.

When is the Wolfenstein 3 release date?

Xbox has announced no release date or window. The motion-capture photo shows production under way, not a date. Performance capture records body and facial performance together, and an unconfirmed casting call reported by MP1st put capture sessions into 2027, which suggests a game still in production if the schedule is accurate.

Which platforms will Wolfenstein 3 launch on?

None has been announced. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus reached PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, but whether this game follows that pattern is unknown.