Crystal Dynamics is currently developing the next Tomb Raider game. While there’s no update on when the action-adventure game will launch, Amazon Games’ CEO said development on the game is still progressing despite the turmoil at Crystal Dynamics’ Embracer Group. Amazon Games plans to release the next Tomb Raider game in 2022 after signing an agreement with the developer.
Work is progressing on the next Tomb Raider game
In an interview with IGN published on Thursday, Amazon Gaming VP Christoph Hartmann said that developing a new Tomb Raider game is a “very, very difficult task” with high expectations, but that development of the game is progressing steadily.
“I mean, the bar is so high to make a new Tomb Raider. The longer it goes, the higher the expectations, so it’s a really huge undertaking, but things are progressing. I mean, there are some really good ideas here,” Hartman told IGN.
While the Amazon Games boss didn’t provide any details about the game or its development, he said work on the game is going well and moving forward.
Turmoil in the Hugger Group
Hartman also discussed the impact of the financial turmoil on Embracer Group, the Swedish conglomerate that owns “Tomb Raider” developer Crystal Dynamics. As recently as last year, the company was on an acquisition spree, purchasing multiple video game studios and intellectual property, including Crystal Dynamics, which it acquired from Square Enix in 2022.
However, after striking a $2 billion (approximately Rs. 16,783 crore) investment deal with Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games Group, Embracer ran into debt, triggering a spiral in its share price, massive layoffs at the company and its various subsidiaries, studio closures, the cancellation of several projects in development and the eventual sale of several studios in its portfolio.
In March 2023, the company sold Gearbox Entertainment to Take-Two Interactive for $460 million (approximately Rs. 3,860 crore) and divested Saber Interactive for $247 million (approximately Rs. 2,072 crore). However, the rights to several major franchises, such as “The Lord of the Rings” and “Tomb Raider,” are still owned by Embracer.
In April 2024, Embracer announced plans to split into three independent companies, namely Asmodee Group, Coffee Stain & Friends and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends, each focusing on different businesses. The Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends entity will remain under the Embracer umbrella, owning the rights to “Lord of the Rings”, “Tomb Raider” and other major IPs, and owning Crystal Dynamics and a number of other major game studios.
Hartman said in the interview that the Tomb Raider developer was “pretty protected” from the loss of Embracer, who left the studio to work on the next game in the series. “People obviously looked at what the parent company was doing, but it never had an impact on resources and it never led to any changes in their management, so they were fine,” he said.
Amazon Games signed a deal with Crystal Dynamics in 2022 to distribute the next multi-platform Tomb Raider game globally. As part of the deal, Amazon Games is also providing development support for the as-yet-unnamed game.
The next Tomb Raider game will be a single-player, narrative-driven adventure that continues the story of Lara Croft. Crystal Dynamics is using Unreal Engine 5 to develop the game, which the company claims will be “the largest and most content-rich Tomb Raider game to date.”
