It Looks Like Wolfenstein 3 Is Putting Nazis Where They Belong: Jail

Xbox’s recent 25th anniversary-celebrating Fanfest finally made the long-rumoured Wolfenstein 3 official. MachineGames is developing the third part of its planned FPS trilogy, and I couldn’t be more excited. I replayed 2017’s The New Colossus at the start of the year, and its gory, executing-Nazis-in-front-of-a-live-television-audience finale was a good reminder of why MachineGames is one of the best in the business, and why so many shooter fans have held out hope for a third game over the past near-decade. The announcement stopped short of almost anything beyond confirmation of Wolfenstein 3’s existence. No subtitle, no logo, no plot outline, and certainly no trailer. But Xbox CEO Asha Sharma did post an image showing off just the upper left corner of the script’s first page – barely six lines of notes and dialogue. But it’s enough to suggest that Wolfenstein 3 is working with a very fun concept: a jail for Nazis. No Escape from Castle NazitrazChapter one is titled “Nazitraz”, a spin on Alcatraz, the famous prison facility off the coast of San Francisco. At the end of The New Colossus, B.J. and his allies trigger a revolution in Nazi-occupied America, and by the end of the credits it’s clear the revolt succeeded. That would put Alcatraz under the control of the revolutionaries, and so it’s no surprise that it would be turned into a prison for Nazis, or “Nazitraz”. This whole story began with B.J. escaping from a Nazi prison fortress in The Old Blood, so it’s somewhat classic poetry for it to begin its final chapter in a prison fortress not run by Nazis, but containing them.Wolfenstein 3 is officially in production at @MachineGames. One of gaming's most important franchises, and a team that has done remarkable work bringing it forward. Looking forward to sharing more. https://t.co/YyX8LrbTvh— ASHA (@asha_shar) November 12, 2026The script’s dialogue paints a picture of B.J. entering an interrogation cell, where the captive inside immediately breaks down in panic. As MachineGames posted, “His reputation precedes him.” The Nazi goes by the name of Otto, and so he’ll be a new character for the modern series, but could well be inspired by Otto Giftmacher, the chemical weapons scientist from the original Wolfenstein 3D. Whoever he is, he should, of course, be afraid of the famous Nazi hunter.From here, where the story goes is anyone’s guess, but mine would be that B.J. is shipping off to Europe again. Last year, in an interview with Noclip, MachineGames studio head Jerk Gustafsson said the team had "always seen [BJ's story] as a trilogy," and so this third game will need to finish his fight against the Nazis. He’ll need to strike at their German headquarters to finally cut the head off this snake, securing world peace. Well, at least until that peace ends and the Nazis gain control of Europe – the need for the 1980s-set spinoff Wolfenstein: Youngblood to have Nazis to kill really does mean the main trilogy can’t end on a definitive victory. Somehow, they always return. Branching Timelines There’s one final line of the script visible: “Fergus moves in to pick up the…”. The mention of Fergus is unsurprising, since the angry Scott is a key part of the modern Wolfenstein ensemble, but it also suggests that Wolfenstein’s dual timelines will likely be returning. Grace and Fergus in Wolfenstein 2. | Image credit: BethesdaIf you can remember back to 2014’s Wolfenstein: The New Order, you’re asked to make a choice in the prologue: will you save the life of the young Probst Wyatt III, or the older, more grizzled Fergus Reid? Your choice dictates some small gameplay systems – health or armour upgrades, the ability to open specific doors – but more significantly, it makes the survivor a key player in the story. Your choice carries into the sequel via a save game file, and dictates the special weapon you’re given in The New Colossus. Fergus’ presence in the script suggests that this timeline system is back (he’d surely have just been written out of the story if MachineGames didn’t want to include the option for Wyatt). And if the dual timeline is back, it seems likely that your save will be imported, and that there will once again be gameplay differences depending on who you chose to save all the way back in The New Order. With games and save files now being spread across several generations and not necessarily still in the possession of players, it seems likely that Wolfenstein 3 – just like The New Colossus – will replay the choice between Fergus and Wyatt as a flashback sequence, allowing you to re-pick your original choice or opt for a different version of events. Debra Wilson and Brian Bloom on the set of Wolfenstein 3. | Image credit: BethesdaAlongside B.J. and Fergus, a screenshot of lead actor Brian Bloom performing across from Debra Wilson confirms that the latter’s character, revolutionary Grace Walker, will also return. We know that by the time of the events of Wolfenstein Youngblood she’s become the leader of the FBI, and so this third mainline chapter may well see her take on that position by its end. Look, it’s barely anything to go on, so that’s about all we can glean from this announcement. That doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to theorise about, though. Where do you think Wolfenstein 3 will take us, and what do you hope to see happen? Let us know in the comments. Matt Purslow is IGN's Executive Editor of Features.