The next Tomb Raider game will apparently get a full reveal this year.
Our source also claims that the studio is already working on full time development just for the game, so the timetable they had for making it has already sped up.
If true, this couldn’t be more timely for Crystal Dynamics, that very recently revealed that they would be dropping support for the Marvel’s Avengers video game. That project was the last the studio made with publisher Square Enix, as they had already been sold to new holding company Embracer. This puts them under the same family as THQ Nordic, but as a separate entity. Embracer also made sure that Crystal Dynamics would have full creative control over future Tomb Raider games by giving it and their other franchises back to the studio.
Crystal Dynamics also already committed to investors that they have a reveal for Tomb Raider planned for this year. If the rumors of Marvel’s Avengers’ imminent closure are true, this could have possibly put forward the timetable on that reveal, from possibly the 2023 The Game Awards, to say, E3 2023. If the reveal isn’t planned for any of these events, it should give you an idea of how rapidly they can speed up work on the game, as a significant number of their staff were put to work on Marvel’s Avengers.
Even though Crystal Dynamics had still not revealed that much about the next Tomb Raider game, we do know a few details that they have already disclosed.
For starters, Crystal Dynamics has taken the surprising step to partner with Amazon Games, instead of other Embracer owned companies, as the publisher for this new Tomb Raider. It’s likely that Crystal Dynamics added a precondition that Amazon would publish the game to all the platforms, this does make it sound like Amazon Luna players are guaranteed to get their own version of the game, and likely, a game that is well optimized for the cloud. Crystal Dynamics should also not be lacking in funding from Amazon. Our source has also pointed out that the game is being made on Unreal Engine 5.
We also covered a rumor that hints at possible story details for the new game, though these should be taken with a grain of salt.
The rumors suggest they are casting for a British actress for Lara in her 30s, and they will have romantic scenes with another female character. This new Tomb Raider game will also apparently see Lara assembling her own little team of adventurers, hopefully this time not abandoning her or dying on her.
Whether the rumors are true or not, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is four years old, and that’s surely enough time for Crystal Dynamics to reassess where their Tomb Raider reboot has gone and what directions it needs to go to next. Hopefully I’m right, and it won’t take too long before we see this reveal.
Source: PSU
