So, it turns out that Ron Gilbert was playing a joke on us, but not the joke most people were expecting. On his website, he announced that he was making a new Monkey Island title... on April Fools Day. So, naturally, people thought this was a little cruel (who doesn't want a new Monkey Island?) but just an April Fools joke nonetheless.
However, Gilbert was playing a reverse UNO card on us the entire time, because now it's just been announced that he's been working on Return to Monkey Island for the past few years, with its release coming sometime this year. As one would expect and hope, the game is the long-awaited follow-up to Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge. How long ago was that? Only 31 years.
So yeah, it's been a while. You might have to replay them or the remakes to get a refresher on what's happened. The game is a collaboration between Devolver Digital, Lucasfilm Games, and Ron Gilbert's Terrible Toybox, which is ironic because he said this back in 2015:
I don't know if I will ever get to make another Monkey Island. I always envisioned the game as a trilogy and I really hope I do, but I don't know if it will ever happen. Monkey Island is now owned by Disney and they haven't shown any desire to sell me the IP. I don't know if I could make Monkey Island 3a without complete control over what I was making and the only way to do that is to own it. Disney: Call me.
It took a while, but it looks like Gilbert got what he wanted. It's even referenced in the trailer below, so be sure to check it out:
For more information on Ron Gilbert, Monkey Island, and everything in between, stay tuned to TechRaptor.