Crystal Dynamics had announced that a new Tomb Raider video game was coming, but offered very little outside of it being on Unreal Engine 5. The studio has now announced that Amazon Games will be publishing it and offered a few more details about the title.
This Tomb Raider will be a multiplatform, single-player, and narrative-driven game and will include “all the elements that have made Tomb Raider one of the most revered franchises in gaming” like puzzles, exploration, and a “wide variety of enemies to face and overcome.” It will also be the biggest and most expansive Tomb Raider installment yet and is still in early development. More will be announced at a later time.
This is also another one of Amazon Games’ external deals. Amazon Games is also publishing a multiplayer game from Disruptive Games, a co-op title from Glowmade, and Bandai Namco’s Blue Protocol, which just appeared at The Game Awards. VP of Amazon Games Christoph Hartmann offered a statement on the Tomb Raider deal, praising Crystal Dynamics in the process.
“Tomb Raider is one of the most beloved IPs in entertainment history,” said Hartmann. “Amazon Games is committed to bringing players games of the highest quality, from the best developers, across all variety of platforms and genres, and we’re honored by the opportunity to work with this storied developer and franchise. Our team is incredibly excited about collaborating with the talented and visionary Crystal Dynamics team to bring the next chapter of Lara Croft’s saga to players around the world.”
Embracer Group’s deal to acquire Crystal Dynamics recently closed in August 2022, as the huge video game and media holding company bought the team from Square Enix, a publisher that frequently expressed its disappointments with its western studios (including Crystal Dynamics). Crystal Dynamics is still currently working on Marvel’s Avengers and assisting The Initiative develop the Perfect Dark reboot. Head of Studio at Crystal Dynamics Scot Amos recently spoke about this acquisition, as well as this new Tomb Raider game.
“Crystal Dynamics has an extraordinary opportunity following our acquisition by Embracer to redefine what a publishing relationship is for Tomb Raider,” said Amos. “Transformative is what we’re looking for, and with Amazon Games, we found a team that shares our creative vision, ambitions, and values for a Lara Croft universe across the spectrum of possibilities. They’re uniquely positioned to rewrite what publishing and development collaborations are, and we’re eager to forge this new path together, starting with building the biggest and best Tomb Raider game yet!”
Tomb Raider has been stuck in a tomb for a few years now. Shadow of the Tomb Raider was the last video game entry and released in September 2018 to decent reviews. The last Alicia Vikander-led film also came out earlier that year. Another Tomb Raider movie is reportedly in the works, but it won’t include Vikander and will be another reboot. However, there is a Netflix anime series in production that is slated for 2023 and stars Hayley Atwell as Lara Croft.
