The next Tomb Raider game in development at Crystal Dynamics will be published by Amazon Games. The Untitled Sequel of 2018 Shadow of the Tomb Raider will be a cross-platform game described as a “single-player narrative adventure that continues the story of Lara Croft in Tomb Raider series.”
As previously announced, the next grave robber is being developed using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5. In a press release, Amazon and Crystal Dynamics called the franchise’s next game “the biggest and most expansive grave robber game to date. It is also noted that he is in early development; a release window and platforms for the new Tomb Raider have not been announced.
Previous entries in the Tomb Raider franchise have been published by Square Enix. The publisher acquired Eidos Interactive, which owned Crystal Dynamics, in 2009. But earlier this year, Square Enix sold Crystal Dynamics and other studios – and their associated intellectual properties, including Tomb Raider, Deus Ex and Thief – to the Embrace group.
Now Amazon Games is stepping in to provide “full support and release” for the new grave robber.
“Amazon Games is committed to bringing gamers the highest quality games, from the best developers, across all platforms and genres, and we are honored to have the opportunity to work with this developer and this legendary franchise,” said the vice president of Amazon Games. Christoph Hartmann in a press release. “Our team is extremely excited to partner with the talented and visionary team at Crystal Dynamics to bring the next chapter in the Lara Croft saga to gamers around the world.”
“Crystal Dynamics has an extraordinary opportunity following our acquisition by Embracer to redefine what a publishing relationship is. grave robberadded Scot Amos, head of studio at Crystal Dynamics. “Transformative is what we’re looking for, and with Amazon Games, we’ve 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 are publishing and development collaborations, and we look forward to forging this new path together, starting with building the biggest and best grave robber game again!”
The upcoming Tomb Raider game is meant to unify the timelines of Lara Croft’s more recent adventures and those of the original games. Shadow of the Tomb Raider‘s ending, which crowned Crystal Dynamics’ “Survivor Trilogy,” slyly nodded to the events of the original grave robberwith illustrations of a young Lara Croft outside a pyramid and facing a Tyrannosaurus rex.
Amazon Games struggled to find a niche in games with its original properties, trying and bailing out with games like Break away, Crucible, and a scrapped Lord of the Rings MMO. Amazon’s gaming division has found better luck with New world and publishing Smilegate’s lost ark. Last week, Amazon Games announced that it was teaming up with Bandai Namco to bring blue protocola free-to-play online action-RPG, aimed at a global audience.
