Troy Baker has spent two decades as one of gaming's most recognizable voices, but May 2026 finds him at an inflection point that's bigger than any single role. With Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – Nintendo Switch 2 launching May 12, 2026, a BAFTA nomination on his résumé, and early-stage conversations about building his own studio, Baker is navigating a transformation from performer to potential creator — all while fans parse his carefully worded hints about Joel's future in The Last of Us.
This is a pivotal moment not just for Baker personally, but for the voice acting profession he has helped define. The questions swirling around him right now — Can AI replace actors like him? Will he make the leap to developer? Is Joel truly done? — are the same questions reshaping the entire games industry in 2026.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Comes to Nintendo Switch 2
When Indiana Jones and the Great Circle originally launched in December 2024, it arrived as a premium Xbox and PC exclusive. The Nintendo Switch 2 release on May 12, 2026 represents a second wave of attention for a game that already earned serious critical praise — and for Baker, it's a chance to introduce his performance to an entirely new audience.
Baker's portrayal of Indiana Jones was never going to be simple. Harrison Ford owns that character in the cultural imagination in a way few actors own any role. The challenge wasn't just learning the vocal cadences; it was finding a version of Indy that felt authentic without being a carbon copy. Baker appeared alongside Ford himself at the 2024 Game Awards, a moment that signaled Ford's personal endorsement of the project and, implicitly, Baker's interpretation of the character.
The Switch 2 launch has generated a fresh round of press for Baker, and he's made clear he's not treating it as promotional obligation. He told interviewers he plans to start his third playthrough of the game when the Switch 2 version drops — a detail that communicates genuine affection for the project rather than the polished detachment of a voice actor moving on to the next gig.
For Switch 2 owners already exploring the console's launch catalog, The Great Circle arrives as one of the highest-profile titles available. Other notable Switch 2 releases are building out the platform's library, but an Indiana Jones adventure with a BAFTA-nominated lead performance is a different category of offering entirely.
The BAFTA Nomination: Why It Matters Beyond the Award
Baker's nomination for leading performance at the BAFTAs for his work in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle matters for reasons that extend well beyond personal recognition. It's a data point in an ongoing argument about whether video game voice acting deserves the same institutional respect as film or television performance.
For years, the games industry operated under an unspoken assumption that voice acting was technical work — capturing lines in an isolated booth, leaving the emotional heavy lifting to animators and designers. That assumption has eroded steadily, and nominations like Baker's are part of what's eroding it. Games now ask performers to sustain emotional arcs across 20, 40, sometimes 100-hour narratives. The craft required is closer to a stage run than a single film shoot.
Baker has been outspoken about the evolving challenges of voice acting, including the AI question that hangs over the profession. His position, notably, isn't defensive panic — he's described his stance as excitement rather than fear, arguing that the human elements of performance become more valuable, not less, as synthetic alternatives proliferate. A BAFTA nomination for embodying one of cinema's most iconic characters is a strong argument for that position.
Twenty Years of Defining Characters: Baker's Body of Work
To understand why Baker's current moment resonates, it helps to trace the arc of a career that spans more than two decades and an unusually wide range of iconic roles. Few voice actors have contributed to as many landmark titles across as many different genres.
The credits that most people know: Joel in The Last of Us (2013 and 2020), a performance that set a new benchmark for emotional authenticity in games. Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman: Arkham Origins. Sam Drake in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. The Joker in Batman: Arkham Origins. Revolver Ocelot in Metal Gear Solid V. Pagan Min in Far Cry 4. Booker DeWitt in BioShock Infinite.
What makes Baker's range unusual is that these aren't variations on a type. Booker DeWitt is a broken man carrying guilt he can't fully articulate. Pagan Min is theatrical menace delivered with genuine charm. Joel is grief weaponized into protective violence. These characters share a voice actor and almost nothing else.
According to a detailed profile of Baker's career, this versatility has been both his professional signature and something he's actively cultivated — treating each project as its own acting challenge rather than a pipeline of similar work. That approach is what made him credible casting for Indiana Jones, a character who demands a very specific register.
The Future of Joel: What Baker's Hints Actually Mean
Of everything Baker has said in his recent press run, his comments about Joel from The Last of Us have generated the most fan speculation. Speaking to Eurogamer in April 2026, Baker stated plainly: "we've not seen the last of Joel."
The context matters here. Joel died in The Last of Us Part II — a narrative choice that was simultaneously the most discussed and most divisive moment in recent gaming history. Baker's comments aren't suggesting a retcon or a resurrection. Instead, he's pointing toward the character's cultural durability and the multiple mediums through which Joel might continue to exist.
Specifically, Baker said he hopes to see Joel portrayed across TV, film, more games, and even comic books — and he was explicit that he wants Pedro Pascal, who plays Joel in the HBO series, not to be the last person to embody the character. Baker's framing positions Joel as a character who belongs to a broader creative ecosystem, not locked to any single portrayer or medium.
The phrase "Naughty Dog or somebody else" is the most intriguing part of his statement. It leaves open the possibility that Joel's story — in some form, perhaps in flashback or prequel territory — could come from a studio other than the one that created him. Licensing arrangements like that are rare but not unprecedented in gaming, and Baker's willingness to float the idea publicly suggests it may have come up in actual conversations, not just as fan hypothesizing.
From Performer to Creator: Baker's Game Development Ambitions
The most forward-looking news from Baker's recent interviews is his stated intention to move into game development. In April 2026, Baker told Push Square he is "beginning the conversations" about creating his own studio, framing it in terms of narrative ambition: he wants to tell his own stories, not just inhabit the stories others have built.
The inspiration he cited is revealing. Baker pointed to Abubakar Salim, the British-Nigerian actor who founded Surgent Studios and directed Immortals of Aveum, as a model for the actor-to-developer transition. Salim's path demonstrated that performers with deep familiarity with the creative process of game-making — having observed it from the inside across dozens of projects — can bring a distinctive perspective to development leadership.
Baker's rolodex reads like a curriculum for aspiring game directors. He has worked with Ken Levine (BioShock Infinite), Hideo Kojima (Death Stranding, Metal Gear Solid V), Todd Howard (Starfield), Neil Druckmann (The Last of Us), and Vince Zampella. Across those collaborations, he has observed vastly different creative philosophies, production methodologies, and approaches to narrative design. Few people in the industry have that breadth of direct exposure to auteur game development at the highest level.
According to Game Rant's coverage of Baker's development ambitions, his interest isn't in making games that showcase voice acting — it's in having creative control over stories and how they're told. That's a meaningful distinction. The studios he'd be competing with wouldn't just be indie houses; he'd be entering a market where narrative-driven games live or die on the strength of their creative direction.
What This Means: Baker at the Center of Gaming's Identity Crisis
Troy Baker's current moment is a lens on several tensions the games industry is working through simultaneously. The first is the AI question. Baker has made clear he's not running from it — his "excited, not scared" framing is a deliberate positioning that argues for the irreplaceability of authentic human performance precisely when that replaceability is being tested. His BAFTA nomination for Indiana Jones is exhibit A in that argument.
The second tension is institutional recognition. The fact that a video game voice performance can earn a BAFTA nomination in a leading performance category — not a specialized games category — represents genuine progress in how performance in games is understood culturally. Baker is benefiting from that shift and also helping to advance it through the visibility his profile creates.
The third tension is the question of what happens when the people who have always executed others' creative visions decide they want creative ownership. Baker moving into development isn't just a career story; it's symptomatic of a maturing industry where the barriers between performer, writer, and director are becoming more permeable. The most interesting game studios of the next decade may be founded by people who learned their craft as collaborators before becoming principals.
For fans, the practical implications are concrete: more Indiana Jones content is coming through the Switch 2 release, Joel's story isn't necessarily finished, and Baker's own creative vision may eventually produce something entirely new.
Frequently Asked Questions About Troy Baker
Who does Troy Baker voice in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle?
Troy Baker voices Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – Nintendo Switch 2. The role earned him a BAFTA nomination for leading performance. Baker appeared alongside Harrison Ford at the 2024 Game Awards to promote the game, with Ford's presence widely interpreted as an endorsement of Baker's portrayal.
Is Troy Baker going to make his own video game?
As of April 2026, Baker confirmed he is in the early stages of exploring game development, describing it as "beginning the conversations" about creating his own studio. He cited actor-turned-developer Abubakar Salim and Surgent Studios as an inspiration, and has drawn on lessons from working with industry figures including Neil Druckmann, Hideo Kojima, and Ken Levine. No studio name or specific project has been announced yet. More details are available at Push Square's coverage.
Will Joel return in The Last of Us?
Troy Baker has said "we've not seen the last of Joel," suggesting more content featuring the character is possible — from Naughty Dog or potentially another studio. Baker specifically hopes to see Joel portrayed across multiple mediums including TV, film, games, and comics, and stated he wants Pedro Pascal not to be the final person to play the character. These are Baker's personal hopes and observations, not confirmed Naughty Dog announcements.
What are Troy Baker's most famous video game roles?
Baker's most celebrated roles include Joel in The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II, Booker DeWitt in BioShock Infinite, Bruce Wayne in Batman: Arkham Origins, Sam Drake in Uncharted 4, Pagan Min in Far Cry 4, and most recently Indiana Jones in The Great Circle. His career spans more than 20 years in the industry.
When does Indiana Jones and the Great Circle release on Nintendo Switch 2?
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle releases on Nintendo Switch 2 on May 12, 2026. The game originally launched in December 2024 on Xbox and PC. The Switch 2 version brings Baker's BAFTA-nominated performance to Nintendo's new hardware for the first time.
Conclusion
Troy Baker's 2026 isn't a victory lap — it's a pivot point. The Indiana Jones role has expanded what the industry understands about what voice acting can accomplish, and the BAFTA recognition is the most visible acknowledgment of that expansion yet. His hints about Joel's future speak to how deeply embedded certain characters become in a culture, transcending the specific games or actors that introduced them. And his nascent development ambitions suggest that the most interesting chapter of his career may not be behind a microphone at all.
What ties these threads together is Baker's fundamental argument about human creative work: that authenticity, specificity, and lived experience in storytelling are not easily replicated, and that the demand for them increases rather than disappears under pressure from synthetic alternatives. Whether he's right will be tested in the years ahead. The Switch 2 launch of The Great Circle is one more round of evidence he's making a strong case.
