Crystal Dynamics' Next Tomb Raider Game Might Be In Trouble

Lara Croft fans were anticipating a new AAA Tomb Raider game in 2025, but it later turned out to be a bigger project than they expected. Despite any official confirmation from Crystal Dynamics, based on the job postings and leaks, the news of a new Tomb Raider planned to release in 2026 instead pushed back the anticipation. This was still good news since the next Tomb Raider game is said to be breaking all the traditional grounds and will be more open-world oriented.

Nevertheless, Crystal Dynamics turns out to be one of the many studios hit by the current wave of layoffs and studio shutdowns in the video game industry. Yes, yet another major video game studio is now in trouble. The studio responsible for the famous Tomb Raider series has announced that they have let seventeen people go. The number may not sound as severe as the layoffs from Sony or Xbox, but these personnel were all involved in the development of the next Tomb Raider game.

The studio announced in a statement that they were sorry to have to release seventeen gifted team members this morning. Though they did not make this choice lightly, ultimately, they decided on it to more closely meet their current requirements and lay the foundation for future success.

Though they are well into creating a new Tomb Raider game, which was introduced years back, the layoffs continue. In this iteration, Amazon Games will be partnering with Crystal Dynamics for the initiative, thereby starting a new era for the series. Information is still rather thin, but they verified in December 2022 that the next Tomb Raider game would be an open-world, narrative-driven, single-player game.

These cuts feel somehow ironic, given that the Tomb Raider series is preparing to commemorate its 30th anniversary in 2026. The first game debuted on the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, and PC in October 1996; it interestingly quickly became a pop culture phenomenon. Lara Croft has remained one of gaming's most famous figures over the years, with many reboots and movie, comic, and other appearances. Crystal Dynamics still assures fans that development on the next Tomb Raider is going ahead as scheduled, regardless of the layoffs, so they are determined to provide a top-notch experience, even better than Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

Since layoffs in gaming sometimes suggest more extensive changes within a studio, there is some uncertainty about Crystal Dynamics' prospects. Both Ubisoft's recent reorganization and Crystal Dynamics' staff reductions shed light on a larger tendency in the video game business. Studios face problems such as underperforming games, changing business models, financial constraints, and changing priorities. With Amazon offering support to develop Tomb Raider and Tencent increasing its stake in Ubisoft, it's apparent that the gaming industry is undergoing a significant shift.

Given the gaming industry's changing nature, it is difficult to forecast how these decisions will influence the games we play and the studios developing them. One thing is clear: these changes will define the future of video games, publishers, and studios in the years to come. We really hope that Crystal Dynamics will still be able to release the next Tomb Raider game in 2026, since they haven't released a new AAA Tomb Raider game since 2018, apart from the recent Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered in collaboration with Aspyr.