Two big Tomb Raider announcements came out of Epic Games’ presentation today. Crystal Dynamics is back to developing the series, and a new game is in the works. Though it’s still in the preliminary stages, the new Tomb Raider will be developed using Unreal Engine 5.
What will the new Tomb Raider be about, and when will it release?
Crystal Dynamics is incredibly excited about the future of Unreal and how it will help us take our storytelling to the next level. That's why we're proud to announce that our next #tombraider game is being built on Unreal Engine 5! pic.twitter.com/UFMiWzJAZc
— Tomb Raider (@tombraider) April 5, 2022
Unfortunately, aside from the fact that it exists and is being built with Unreal Engine 5, barely any information about the new Tomb Raider game was announced. Crystal Dynamics is taking back the franchise’s reins from Eidos Montreal and will be leading development on the game. However, considering that the studio has just started development, it’ll be a long time before we get a release date for the new Tomb Raider.
We can assume that the upcoming Unreal Engine 5 Tomb Raider stars Lara Croft. However, it’s unknown whether it’ll continue the narrative started in the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot or if it’ll start yet another continuity for the series. In addition, some players criticized the latest game, 2018’s Shadow of the Tomb Raider, as being stale, so we may see a shift in gameplay regardless of the narrative.
Dallas Dickinson, franchise general manager for Tomb Raider said of the new project:
“Our goal is to push the envelope of fidelity and to deliver the high-quality cinematic, action-adventure experience that fans deserve from both Crystal Dynamics and the Tomb Raider franchise.”
Former Sony Bend Studio director Jeff Ross, who led development on Days Gone, will direct the new Tomb Raider game. Based on his involvement, we might see some vehicular or open-world gameplay, which would be a first for the series.
Given Epic’s demonstrations so far, it’s exciting to see the industry transition to Unreal Engine 5. We can’t wait to see how Tomb Raider and other games using the engine turn out.
In other news, the Abandoned dev is scared to show development footage, and Wargaming is shutting down operations in Russia and Belarus.
