After a long break for Lara Croft, a couple of fresh Tomb Raider adventures are on their way. They will be the first new games in the series since 2018, and both will be published by Amazon.
Announced at the Game Awards in LA, Tomb Raider Catalyst stars the “charismatic, self-assured, formidable Lara Croft” from the original 1990s games, says game director Will Kerslake. It’s set in the markets, mountains, and naturally the ancient buildings of northern India, where Lara is racing with other treasure hunters to track down potentially cataclysmic artefacts. It will be out in 2027.
Catalyst is in development at Crystal Dynamics, the Californian developer that has looked after Tomb Raider since 2003. Crystal Dynamics previously developed Tomb Raiders Legend, Anniversary and Underworld, as well as the reboot trilogy that featured a younger, more vulnerable Lara. Its most recent game in the series was 2018’s Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, meanwhile, is being developed in collaboration with Flying Wild Hog in Poland. Featuring modernised combat and redesigned tomb-delving puzzles, the game is an “expanded” ground-up reimagining of Lara Croft’s very first 1996 adventure, which established her as one of gaming’s most recognisable characters. “Our goal was to respect the spirit of Core Design’s original game, while updating the experience for today’s gamers including building it with Unreal Engine 5,” Kerslake says. “We see this is a reimagining of the original game with a gameplay experience that wasn’t possible on the technology at the time.” Legacy of Atlantis will be out in 2026.
In both games, Croft will be played by the British actor Alix Wilton Regan, who previously had significant roles in Dragon Age: Inquisition and Cyberpunk 2077. She was also due to star as Joanna Dark in the cancelled remake of 2000’s spy-shooter Perfect Dark.
Despite the series’ recent hiatus, Tomb Raider still has immense brand recognition, built on its 1990s heyday. Amazon also has a TV series in the works with Phoebe Waller-Bridge, which is to star Sophie Turner as Croft. Over 30 years, Croft has been everything from Playboy pin-up to rugged wilderness adventurer to gentlewoman action hero.
“Across the series, our goal is to show that Lara is always evolving,” Kerslake says. “Her core DNA will remain, but we believe it’s important to show how each adventure shapes her character over time.”
