Amazon Games to Publish Next Tomb Raider Game by Crystal Dynamics
Amazon Games and Crystal Dynamics have reached an agreement to make a multiplatform title for the next major entry in the Tomb Raider series, the companies announced Thursday.
The untitled, in-early-development Tomb Raider game is said to be a single-player, narrative-driven adventure that continues Lara Croft’s story in the series, and utilizes Unreal Engine 5.
We are excited to announce that @CrystalDynamics has partnered with @AMZNGameStudios on the next major entry in the Tomb Raider series, which will continue Lara Croft’s saga in a single-player, story-driven multiplatform adventure. Amazon Games will support & publish globally! pic.twitter.com/Pn5aGeZaAm
— Tomb Raider (@tombraider) December 15, 2022
"Tomb Raider is one of the most beloved IPs in entertainment history," Christoph Hartmann, VP of Amazon Games, said in a press release. "Amazon Games is committed to bringing players games of the highest quality, from the best developers, across all variety of platforms and genres, and we’re honored by the opportunity to work with this storied developer and franchise. Our team is incredibly excited about collaborating with the talented and visionary Crystal Dynamics team to bring the next chapter of Lara Croft’s saga to players around the world."
The move marks Amazon Games' latest announced externally developed title following the February 2022 release of Lost Ark, developed by Smilegate RPG. During The Game Awards 2022, Amazon Games revealed it will be publishing Bandai Namco's newest online RPG, Blue Protocol.
With its internal Orange County studio, Amazon Games continues to support its New World MMORPG, which marked its one-year anniversary in September.
"Crystal Dynamics has an extraordinary opportunity following our acquisition by Embracer to redefine what a publishing relationship is for Tomb Raider," Scot Amos, head of studio at Crystal Dynamics, said in a press release. "Transformative is what we’re looking for, and with Amazon Games, we 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 publishing and development collaborations are, and we’re eager to forge this new path together, starting with building the biggest and best Tomb Raider game yet!"
As mentioned by Amos, the upcoming title will be Crystal Dynamics' first since Square Enix sold it off in May to Embracer Group for $300 million, along with Square Enix Montreal and Eidos Montreal.
Among its "business strategies" for achieving its "medium‐term earnings targets," Square Enix mentioned its desire to pursue the initiatives of boosting game development capabilities by establishing, merging and acquiring studios, as well as investing in focus fields to promote the Blockchain Entertainment domain.
Crystal Dynamics was most recently credited for developing the Tomb Raider series' "Survivor Trilogy," comprised of Tomb Raider (2013), Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015) and Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018).