Development on the next Tomb Raider game was announced on today’s “The State of Unreal” livestream. The general manager at Crystal Dynamics, Dallas Dickinson, confirmed that the studio has started developing Lara Croft’s next adventure in Unreal Engine 5.
“Crystal Dynamics is proud to be a part of the launch of Unreal Engine 5. This new engine translates into next-level storytelling in gameplay experiences,” said Dickinson. “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.”
No gameplay or key visuals were shown, presumably because the game is so early in development. But this isn’t the first time that Crystal Dynamics had discussed its plans for following up the Tomb Raider trilogy of the 2010s. The studio previously teased the forthcoming game last year as part of a 25th anniversary franchise celebration.
In that earlier video, game director Will Kerslake said that future Tomb Raider games would strive to unite the timelines of the recent trilogy in which a young Lara was “forged into a survivor,” and Core Design’s original games which depicted her as “a seasoned and confident adventurer.” He asked for the community’s patience as the developers worked to reconcile these influences and tell “stories that build upon the breadth of both Core Design and Crystal Dynamics’ games.” .
Core Design was the studio behind the original Tomb Raider games, but parent company Eidos transferred development on the franchise over to Crystal Dynamics in the wake of 2003’s troubled Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness.
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Hopefully, the switch from Crystal Dynamics’ in-house engine to Unreal Engine 5 can help the upcoming Tomb Raider game keep the series relevant and exciting. Square Enix’s president Yosuka Matsuda admitted that the company had “extremely high” expectations for the series in 2017, and other titles published by Square Enix have had high internal sales targets established by the publisher .
There is currently no release date or tentative title for the next installment of Tomb Raider.
