Following the release of Tomb Raider's new trailer for its Guide to Survival video series, the official Tomb Raider Facebook page has now announced that the game has gone gold!
For those not familiar with the gaming term, going "gold" means that a game's development is essentially finished and is now being sent to be manufactured.
To commemorate this occasion, studio head Darrell Gallagher posted a lengthy message to fans, which you can read in its entirety below.
It’s been a long journey, and it feels like we’ve been on this one together. Thank you for your continued enthusiasm and support since we first revealed our new vision for Tomb Raider to the world. I am very happy to let you know that we are into the final stretch of what has been an exciting and challenging adventure for the last few years. Tomb Raider has ‘gone gold’ and is now en route to manufacturing ahead of the game’s official release on March 5th, so there isn’t too long before it will be in your hands.Back in 2010 when we announced Tomb Raider we promised to break new ground for the franchise – to create an origins story that forges Lara Croft into a hero, and takes her on a journey like no other. I’m very happy that I can stand by those words today.We’ve put everything into this game, and I’m certain we’ve created something that explores Tomb Raider’s history while pushing the limits in interactive storytelling and design. Development has spanned two studios, a pair of E3 stage demos, 50-plus magazine covers, 150 award nominations, nearly 800 fan art submissions, almost 2,000 blog posts, and over 50,000 replies from you on our forums.And now it’s time to get the game into your hands. We sincerely hope you enjoy it. We think you will, We are immensely proud of this game.28 days to go.Darrell
Tomb Raider is set for a March 5 release on the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.