Amazon Games and Crystal Dynamics announced this morning that the two have reached an agreement to produce the next entry in the iconic Tomb Raider franchise. The companies announced today that Amazon Games will be publishing the title, with Crystal Dynamics developing Croft's next adventure.
We've known that Crystal Dynamics was building the next Tomb Raider title, and this time it'll be built using Unreal Engine 5. Since being acquired by Embracer Group earlier this year, the team at Crystal Dynamics has been slowly working on the Tomb Raider entry, and with Amazon the studio feels they found the right publishing partner.
"Transformative is what we’re looking for, and with Amazon Games," Scot Amos," head of Crystal Dynamics said in today's press release, "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!”
The press release states that the next title will follow in the footsteps of the series and be a single-player, narrative-driven title that is a continuation of the stories Crystal Dynamics has told since its reboot in 2013. The new Tomb Raider will feature exploration, as well as the puzzle-solving the series is known for. Crystal Dynamics touts this as the "biggest, most expansive Tomb Raider game to date."
No release date or even a name was announced today for the upcoming title, but the publishing announcement adds another game to Amazon's growing lists of titles under their belt. Earlier this month the team announced it was publishing Bandai Namco Online's Blue Protocol next year in the West, and it currently publishes Smilegate RPG's Lost Ark while also developing their own MMORPG, New World. The team is also working with Disruptive Games on their upcoming online multiplayer title, as well as a co-op online game by Glowmade.