Crystal Dynamics has announced that they have started development on a new Tomb Raider game, and that it will be developed using Unreal Engine 5. Dallas Dickinson, general manager of the franchise, made the announcement today during the State of Unreal 2022 broadcast.
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
During the announcement video, Dickinson congratulated Epic Games on the release of Unreal Engine 5, stating that the new engine will translate into “next level storytelling and gameplay experiences.” No other details were given about the game, such as release dates or even a release window, but we can assume the game is at least a few years out considering they have just begun development on it. Dickinson went on to say:
“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.”
With Unreal Engine 5’s release, Crystal Dynamics is not the only developer to swap over to Epic Games’ new game engine. Cyberpunk developer CD Projekt Red recently also teased the start of development on a new game set in the Witcher universe, and that game is also being developed with Unreal Engine 5.
This new Tomb Raider will be the first new game since Shadow of the Tomb Raider released in 2018. Crystal Dynamics is responsible for the reboot of the franchise which tells the story of Lara Croft in her early years in a more gritty, brutal style. It is unclear what part of Lara’s story this new game will tell, but it could bridge the gap between Crystal Dynamics’ reboot trilogy and the older games.
In the years since Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics has also developed Marvel’s Avengers and they have recently been called on to assist beleaguered studio The Initiative on Microsoft’s reboot of the Perfect Dark series.
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