Wolfenstein 3 is officially in production at MachineGames, confirmed by Xbox CEO Asha Sharma on November 13, 2026, on the eve of Xbox’s 25th anniversary. The bigger news is buried in the casting line: Brian Bloom is back as B.J. Blazkowicz, who didn’t even get to hold a gun in the last game.
That’s the part worth sitting with. Wolfenstein: Youngblood sidelined B.J. to make room for his daughters, and MachineGames never confirmed whether that was a permanent handoff or a detour. Now we know. Here’s what’s actually been said, and what’s still a guess.
What Xbox and MachineGames Actually Confirmed
Sharma posted the confirmation on X, calling Wolfenstein “one of gaming’s most important franchises, and a team that has done remarkable work bringing it forward.” MachineGames followed with its own post, sharing photos from a motion-capture shoot and a script page titled “Chapter 01 – Nazitraz,” alongside a short statement: “His reputation precedes him. Wolfenstein 3 is in production.” Beebom and GamerHub UK both confirmed the returning cast from MachineGames’ own posts.
Brian Bloom and Debra Wilson are both returning for voice and motion-capture, as B.J. Blazkowicz and Grace Walker respectively. Beyond that, MachineGames confirmed almost nothing: no release date, no platforms, no gameplay details. “In production” is also a specific claim — the studio says this isn’t pre-production or early planning, which tracks with a script already having chapter titles.
Why B.J.’s Return Matters More Than the Announcement
B.J. has been Wolfenstein’s protagonist since 1992, but Youngblood (2019) handed the controller to his twin daughters and kept him as a support character. That was nearly a decade ago. Wolfenstein 3 putting Bloom back in the driver’s seat answers a question MachineGames left open for years: whether Youngblood was a spinoff experiment or a permanent shift in whose story this franchise tells. It was the former.
There’s history behind why this took so long. MachineGames’ head Jerk Gustafsson has said the studio saw B.J.’s arc as a trilogy from the start, with The New Order and The New Colossus as parts one and two — a plan the team was reportedly mapping out during its earliest weeks working alongside id Software, the franchise’s creator. Reporting on this week’s announcement says id Software is collaborating on Wolfenstein 3 too, which is the third chapter that trilogy plan was always building toward.
MachineGames hasn’t put B.J. back in the lead role since The New Colossus shipped in October 2017 — 109 months before Sharma’s confirmation this week. In between, the studio made Wolfenstein: Youngblood, then spent years building Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which released in December 2024. Coming back to B.J.’s story now, after a detour that long, is itself part of the story.
| Game | Release | B.J.’s Role |
|---|---|---|
| Wolfenstein: The New Order | 2014 | Lead protagonist |
| Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus | 2017 | Lead protagonist |
| Wolfenstein: Youngblood | 2019 | Support character |
| Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (MachineGames, non-Wolfenstein) | 2024 | — |
| Wolfenstein 3 | In production, no date set | Lead protagonist (confirmed) |
None of that tells us when we’ll actually play it. “In production” with chapter-titled script pages is further along than a teaser, but MachineGames gave no window, and big single-player shooters from this studio have taken three to four years between announcement-adjacent news and release. The honest read: this is confirmation the story is happening, not a countdown to launch.
What’s Still Unconfirmed
No release date, no platforms, no engine details, and no word on whether Grace Walker or B.J.’s daughters factor into the plot. Anything claiming specifics beyond what’s above is getting ahead of what Xbox and MachineGames have actually said.
Xbox saved this confirmation for the night before its own 25th anniversary, which says something about how much weight the brand still carries. B.J. Blazkowicz spent a decade fighting Nazis so his daughters wouldn’t have to — now he’s back in the fight himself, and the next real update probably comes from how Xbox builds on this week’s anniversary push.
See everything else Xbox announced for its 25th anniversaryincluding the new Xbox XP division aiming to turn games like this one into movies
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wolfenstein 3 officially confirmed?
Yes. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma confirmed it on X on November 13, 2026, and MachineGames followed with its own confirmation that the game is in production.
Is B.J. Blazkowicz playable in Wolfenstein 3?
MachineGames confirmed Brian Bloom is returning to voice and motion-capture B.J. Blazkowicz, his first time as the lead protagonist since Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus in 2017.
When does Wolfenstein 3 release?
No release date has been announced. MachineGames has only confirmed the game is in production, not that it has a release window.
Is id Software involved in Wolfenstein 3?
Reporting on MachineGames’ announcement indicates id Software, which created the original 1992 Wolfenstein 3D, is collaborating on the project as the franchise’s creator.
