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Amazon’s gaming division will release the next big one tomb Raider sequel, a press release revealed today.
The game will be developed by Crystal Dynamics, the same studio that made the reboot trilogy that included the 2013 tomb Raider2015 The Rise of Tomb Raiderand 2018 The shadow of Tomb Raider.
Crystal Dynamics used to live under the umbrella of major Japan-based international publisher Square-Enix, but the parent company sold Crystal Dynamics and the Tomb Raider intellectual property to Swedish holding company Embracer Group earlier this year. That sale also included the Deus ex, ThiefAnd Kain’s Legacy franchises and associated studios, in other words, most of Square-Enix’s Western studios and properties.
It’s a surprise to see Amazon post the next one tomb Raider game because Embracer owns its own game publishers. But Crystal Dynamics studio head Scot Amos said in a statement that Amazon Games is “in a unique position to rewrite what publishing and development partnerships are” and that they share the tomb Raider “vision, ambitions and values” of the team. To be clear, though: Amazon isn’t acquiring tomb Raider or Crystal Dynamics, is just releasing the next game in the series.
Amazon Games has made waves over the last couple of years, but it’s been largely in the multiplayer space. Amazon developed multiplayer titles in-house (such as the MMO New world) or published multiplayer games from other studios. Previous successes of the company, such as the highly successful localization of the South Korean title Lost Arkthey targeted the same types of gamers who spend their time connecting with multiplayer communities on Twitch.
Given this history, this is the first single-player title announced by Amazon Games. Since Amazon’s previous rumors have focused so much on synergy with Twitch, tomb Raider it’s a clear departure. There are popular streamers who play a variety of single-player games (they’re often called “variety streamers”) but they’re far from dominant; Twitch’s most-watched channels are dominated by gamers who only focus on one or two online games, such as World of Warcraft or Call of Duty: Warzone.
The press release outlines some of the things we can expect next tomb Raider game, and it appears that Amazon Games and Crystal Dynamics are trying to offer fans of the recent reboot trilogy more of the same. It will not be another reboot and will give players “control of the confident and multidimensional heroine Lara Croft in an environment that rewards exploration and creative path-finding, with mind-bending puzzles to solve and a wide variety of enemies to face and overcome.”
The game will be developed in Unreal Engine 5 and is presumably early in development, suggesting we won’t see a release in the next couple of years.
