The next Tomb Raider will be published by Amazon Games
Lara Croft's next game is coming from Amazon HQ
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Amazon’s Tomb Raider
🫢 The next Tomb Raider game will be published by Amazon
🔮 Series regular Crystal Dynamics is developing the title
🌟 The next Tomb Raider will “push the envelope of fidelity”
⌛ But we’ve no word yet on a release date
Amazon Games will publish the next and as-yet-untitled Tomb Raider game currently in development at Crystal Dynamics.
Crystal Dynamics announced the game earlier this year, revealing it’s being built in Unreal Engine 4 to “push the envelope of fidelity, and to deliver the high-quality cinematic action-adventure experience that fans deserve”.
In a new press release, Amazon described the next game in the franchise as “a single-player, narrative-driven adventure that continues Lara Croft’s story in the Tomb Raider series”.
“It includes all the elements that have made Tomb Raider one of the most revered franchises in gaming,” it adds, and describes the game as including “an environment that rewards exploration and creative pathfinding, with mind-bending puzzles to solve, and a wide variety of enemies to face and overcome”.
No release date has been announced, with Amazon only saying it’s in “early development”. In other words, don’t expect to see any previews of Lara Croft in action until a couple of years’ time at a minimum.
Crystal Dynamics is no stranger to the series. The studio was responsible for 2013’s Tomb Raider reboot and 2015 follow-up Rise of the Tomb Raider, although the final game in that trilogy – Shadow of the Tomb Raider – was developed by Eidos-Montréal. All three games were well received by fans and critics, so who knows, maybe this next Tomb Raider title will eventually earn a spot on our pick of the best PS5 games and best Xbox Series X games.
It’s a little surprising that Amazon is publishing this new Tomb Raider title in light of Crystal Dynamic’s recent sale to Embracer Group. The mammoth studio owner usually publishes its own games, albeit through subsidiary imprints. It’s possible Crystal Dynamic’s previous owner, Square Enix, made the publication deal with Amazon before selling the studio to Embracer Group, which carried over after the sale.
Fingers crossed that Amazon proves to be a better publisher of video games than a developer. Before it had a hit with MMO New World, it tried its hand at several canceled games, including the widely panned third-person shooter Crucible. At least Amazon Prime Gaming continues to throw out a bunch of great giveaways every month.