Epic Games‘ presentation today included two major Tomb Raider announcements. Crystal Dynamics has returned to the series’ development, and a new game is in the works. Unreal Engine 5 will be used to produce the new Tomb Raider, which is currently in the early phases of development.
Unfortunately, little information regarding the upcoming Tomb Raider game was released, except for the fact that it exists and is being developed with Unreal Engine 5. Crystal Dynamics has taken over the brand from Eidos Montreal and will be in charge of development. However, given that the company has only recently begun development, we won’t have a release date for the new game for quite some time.
Lara Croft is expected to debut in the next Unreal Engine 5 Tomb Raider. However, it’s unclear whether it’ll continue the story established in the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot or if it’ll start a new series continuity. Furthermore, some gamers have described the most recent game, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, as stale, so we may see a change in gameplay regardless of the story.
Dallas Dickinson, Tomb Raider’s franchise general manager, said about the new project:
“From Crystal Dynamics and the Tomb Raider franchise, our goal is to push the boundaries of fidelity and give the high-quality cinematic, action-adventure experience that fans deserve.”
The upcoming Raider game will be directed by former Sony Bend Studio director Jeff Ross, who oversaw the development of Days Gone. We might see some vehicle or open-world gameplay as a result of his engagement, which would be a first for the franchise.
It’s thrilling to watch the industry shift to Unreal Engine 5 based on Epic’s previous demonstrations. We’re excited to see how the game and other games that use the engine performs.
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