Crystal Dynamics, the creator of the Tomb Raider franchise, has confirmed what we all suspected: it is working on the next big game in the series, which will be built with Unreal Engine 5. The news rounded up Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5 presentation, which coincided with the engine's wide release.
Tomb Raider debuted in 1996 on the original PlayStation and has since inspired multiple sequels, a reboot, and three films (of which, the two Angelina Jolie movies, I maintain, are good). It's been four years since the last Tomb Raider game, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, was released to lukewarm reviews, and it's unclear whether this new game will pick up where Shadow left off.
Dallas Dickinson, Crystal Dynamics' franchise director, used the announcement to extol the benefits of making a game on Unreal Engine 5, adding that "this new engine translates into next-level storytelling and gameplay experiences."
Crystal Dynamics wasn't the only company drooling over Unreal Engine 5. Developers from Gears of War maker The Coalition and The Witcher studio CD Projekt Red discussed how UE5 simplifies their production processes.
Crystal Dynamics is also now working on the upcoming Perfect Dark game, aiding production at Microsoft's The Initiave studio - and a recent report indicated that it has taken on a considerably greater role. (Which begs the question, how much of Crystal Dynamics remains on Marvel's Avengers?)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