New Tomb Raider Game Enters Final Development Phase, Revealing at Summer Game Fest?

Finally, after years of silence and rumors, the next Tomb Raider game is about to be fully revealed, and it might happen sooner than you think. Crystal Dynamics and Amazon Games seem to be getting close to the end of development, according to a new job posting and more and more reports from inside the company.

After the Shadow of the Tomb Raider trilogy, the legendary Lara Croft franchise has been quiet, but developers haven't been sitting around doing nothing. It has been known since 2022 that an Unreal Engine 5-based new Tomb Raider game is being made. All eyes are now on the Summer Game Fest on June 6, where the long-awaited reveal may finally happen. Fans have been waiting for months to even catch a glimpse of the game.

Crystal Dynamics is still committed to the next chapter of Tomb Raider, even after setbacks like laying off a lot of people and reorganizing the company as a whole. The fact that a job posting for a Senior Level Designer on May 17 asked for someone with experience in Unreal Engine 5 and puzzle-based gameplay in third-person adventures suggests that the project is no longer in its early stages. 

In fact, the description makes me think of "Strike Teams," a term that's often used at the end of the game development process, like in the alpha, beta, or polish phases. Even though Tomb Raider isn't named in the listing, it is currently the only single-player third-person game that Crystal Dynamics has confirmed they have full control over. 

Perfect Dark is the only other project Crystal Dynamics is working on at the moment. It is a first-person game led by The Initiative under Xbox Game Studios. People who like video games are worried about choosing Unreal Engine 5 because of problems with other games that use it. Still, you can't deny how true to life the images look. Crystal Dynamics might be able to make Lara Croft's next adventure the most exciting one yet if they can find the right balance between graphics and speed.

Long-time fans also have different opinions on the game's rumored direction. Some want the series to go back to its darker and more mysterious roots, while others like how the new trilogy has a more cinematic, Uncharted-like feel. In either case, people have high hopes.

There are signs that the project is far along, so a 2026 release seems likely, which happens to be Tomb Raider's 30th anniversary. A reveal this year, maybe at the Summer Game Fest, would give fans plenty of time to get excited and give the developers time to make the game better.

Think about it this way: this could be a smart move. Reports say that Rockstar's huge hit game GTA 6 may be delayed till 2027, pushing its release date even later to 2026. If Tomb Raider comes out before GTA VI, it might not get overshadowed by the most anticipated game of the decade.

A person who knows a lot about video games, Nate the Hate, says that at least one of the three big games—Tomb Raider, Project 007, or The Wolf Among Us 2—will be at the Summer Game Fest. Fans have new hope that Lara Croft will be back soon because of that small hint, Crystal Dynamics's increased hiring efforts, and years of quiet development.

Lara Croft has stayed in the spotlight even though there isn't a new mainline game. Crossovers in Call of Duty, Dead by Daylight, and Fortnite, as well as remastered classics, have kept the brand alive. Finally, it looks like the next real part of her story is almost ready.