In what may come as disappointing news to Tomb Raider disciples, Canadian company Realtech VR has seemingly pulled the plug on its plan to remaster the original trilogy.
The prospect of being able to play swankier, freshly textured versions of nineties classics — which had already been ported to Steam without such enhancements — was exciting to say the least. All three games (Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider II and Tomb Raider III) were to be reconstructed in a brand new 3D engine and offered as a free upgrade to players who already owned them. But since the Tomb Raider IP is owned by Square Enix, Realtech VR needed permission to get the ball rolling. Unfortunately, it appears that Realtech will not be proceeding with the remasters. Their cancellation appears to boil down to lack of official publisher endorsement. Crystal Dynamics had this to say on the matter:
“While we always welcome passion and excitement for the Tomb Raider franchise, the remasters in question were initiated and advertised without seeking approval. As such, they were never officially sanctioned. Ensuring fans receive high quality gaming experiences is at the heart of our mission as a company, which requires all projects to go through proper channels. We are thrilled about the future of Tomb Raider, and cannot thank fans enough for their continued support and excitement for the brand.”
Realtech VR has taken down footage of the planned mods, and revealed that it will be readjusting its game development lens towards augmented reality projects:
Via DSOG