Crystal Dynamics revealed during Epic Games’ State of Unreal presentation that it’s working on the next entry in the Tomb Raider which is developed in Unreal Engine 5.
Crystal Dynamics’ Tomb Raider franchise general manager, Dallas Dickinson revealed the news as a part of Unreal Engine 5’s official launch who says the “new engine translates into next-level storytelling and gameplay experiences” and promises to deliver a “high-quality cinematic action-adventure experience.” No gameplay or images were shown during the presentation but Dickinson says the team is to “push the envelope of fidelity” by creating an experience that fans of the series deserve. To add to that, former Days Gone game director, Jeff Ross announced on Twitter he will be joining the Square Enix owned-studio as design director this summer, Ross didn’t add anything but the timing at least suggests he’s working on the next game in the franchise.
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
The last Tomb Raider game that the studio released was Shadow of the Tomb Raider, it’s unknown at this point if Camilla Luddington will reprise her role as Lara Croft or if the next game will follow Lara’s journey from Crystal Dynamics’ Tomb Raider reboot trilogy which gave players a grittier look at Lara’s origins in the 2013 game. While no exact details of the next game have been provided, Crystal Dynamics said in a video outlining its plans for the franchise’s 25th anniversary that Lara’s next adventure will unify the timeline of the original Tomb Raider games.
