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Return to Monkey Island is a new game in the franchise from Ron Gilbert

With Devolver Digital and Lucasfilm Games publishing, Gilbert's Terrible Toybox will pick up where Monkey Island 2 left off sometime in 2022.

TJ Denzer

April 4, 2022 9:55 AM

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In the pantheon of old school point-and-click adventure games, one of the most wonderful franchises among the bunch is that of Monkey Island. A classic of the glory days of Lucasfilm Games, Monkey Island was a product of the equally legendary Ron Gilbert of Maniac Mansion fame, but the franchise has rested dormant for quite a while… until now. Devolver Digital and Lucasfilm Games have officially announced a new Return to Monkey Island game and Ron Gilbert’s Terrible Toybox studio will lead development for a 2022 release.

Lucasfilm, Devolver, and Gilbert himself shared the reveal of Return to Monkey Island with a teaser trailer on April 4, 2022. According to Devolver Digital’s Twitter post on the game, Return to Monkey Island will be a Gilbert-led adventure that picks up where The Secret of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge left off. It’s also slated for a release sometime in 2022, meaning the game has already spent some time in secret development as Ron Gilbert confirmed in his own post.

Fans of the Monkey Island games should be thrilled to see a new game come from the franchise, and from Ron Gilbert no less. There has only been a little activity in regards to Monkey Island for the past few years. Limited Run Games did a release of a Monkey Island Premium Edition in 2020. However, Ron Gilbert has also done other projects at Terrible Toybox, including 2017’s delightful Thimbleweed Park. During this time, Lucasfilm Games also saw a rebirth in 2021 and has since been working on a number of games related to licenses under the company.

With Return to Monkey Island confirmed for a launch sometime in 2022, there are a great many details we’re still waiting to see. Stay tuned as we await further updates such as launch dates and platforms later this year.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.