On December 16, 2022, Amazon Games and Crystal Dynamics jointly announced the development of the new Tomb Raider. A fairly important announcement, a real event in the world of video games, since it was then four years that the license was at rest.
Launched in 1996, the license Tomb Raider had the right to 12 major opuses. But, this is the first time that the wait has been this long. To date, the new opus of the adventures of Lara Croft has only been entitled to a timid announcement in December 2022. Amazon and Crystal Dynamics promised us the first information in 2023which never arrived.
Since 2024, all the news concerning the development of this new game are not very good and often concern layoffs linked to Amazon Games, Crystal Dynamics or Embracer Group. Almost three years after the announcement of the game, and at the dawn of the 30th anniversary of the saga, fans are starting to ask themselves serious questions.
What is the situation? Do we have reason to be worried? We take stock.
Tomb Raider: 30 years of a pop culture icon
Tomb Raiderit is above all Lara Croft, the famous English adventurer who became a true icon of video games, but also, and, more broadly, of pop culture since the release of the first game in 1996. Magazine cover, car advertisement, Lara Croft is the first strong figure in video games to hit the headlines so much.
In the 90s, the image of Lara Croft was often used and highlighted for her perfect plastic and her image of « sex symbol ». Over the years, she has become the embodiment of the femme fatale, the strong woman, with a much more classic and less stereotypical physique. She clearly remains an iconic character and the games have managed to stand the test of time.
Today, Tomb Raider reaches a huge fan-base and these are millions of players around the world who awaits the release of the new opus which will mark the start of a new era for the saga. To date, the series Tomb Raider account 12 games divided into three arcs very distinct:
- ARC 01 (1996-2003)
– Tomb Raider, 1996
– Tomb Raider 2, 1997 (1 year wait)
– Tomb Raider 3, 1998 (1 year wait)
– Tomb Raider 4, 1999 (1 year wait)
– Tomb Raider 5, 2000 (1 year wait)
– Tomb Raider 6, 2003 (3 years wait) - ARC 02 (2006-2008)
– Tomb Raider Legend, 2006 (3 years wait)
– Tomb Raider Anniversary, 2007 (1 year wait)
– Tomb Raider Underworld, 2008 (1 an d’attente) - ARC 03 (2013-2018)
– Tomb Raider, 2013 (5 years wait)
– Rise of the Tomb Raider, 2015 (2 ans d’attente)
– Shadows of the Tomb Raider, 2018 (3 ans d’attente)
This new game, which has been awaited since 2022, will be the first opus of a new arc which should offer several games with new adventures.
Tomb Raider: complicated development linked to numerous layoffs
Since the game was announced on December 16, 2022, fans have been in for a long wait. Amazon Games and Crystal Dynamics had promised to reveal the first official information in 2023. Then in 2024. Finally, while the end of 2025 is fast approaching, we are still without the slightest information on this next game.
To date, the license Tomb Raider belongs to the Californian studio Crystal Dynamics, which is owned by the Embracer group. In 2022, we therefore learned that this new game was being developed in collaboration with Amazon Games. Unfortunately, since 2023, the worries keep coming for the three companies responsible for this new opus.
The first complication concerns Embracer Group, in June 2023. Following the crisis which has impacted the video game industry since Covid, the group announces the closure of many studios et the dismissal of several employees in the different subsidiaries. At that time, Crystal Dynamics confirmed through a press release that the studio was not one of the studios that would be closing and that their plans were not impacted by these upheavals.
Unfortunately, a year later, the situation at Embracer got worse. After having sold new studiosthe group announced a big restructuring. Embracer was then divided in three entitiesall independent in terms of stock market quotation.
A first entity, Asmodeewas responsible for the production and distribution of board games and video games inspired by board games. One second, Coffee Stain & Friends took over the development and production of video games “mid-range”the famous AA, as well as independent games. Finally, the third entity, Middle-Earth Enterprises & Friendstook over the development and production of big budget AAA games like Lord of the Rings and the license Tomb Raider. We suspected then that the production of the game was still current.
A year later, it’s Crystal Dynamics’ turn to be affected by many worries. In March 2025, we learned that the studio was affected by a first wave of layoffs. Directly, Crystal Dynamics confirmed that the employees who had to be let go were not working on the new game Tomb Raiderand that the latter was then not impacted by these departures. A few weeks later, in July 2025, a Kotaku journalist confirmed that the internal situation was very delicate for Crystal Dynamics, largely due to the cancellation of the remake of Perfect Dark. Words which were verified at the end of the summer, since, as early as August, the studio announced a new wave of layoffs. Once again, the studio specified that the project Tomb Raider was not concerned and therefore not impacted.
Finally, a few days ago, Amazon Games carried out a large wave of layoffs with nearly 14,000 employees losing their jobs. The group confirmed that these job cuts were part of a reduction in bureaucratic positions. In a press release, Amazon assured that the development of the next Tomb Raider continued and, once again, the latter was not affected by the departures.
- UPDATE: NOVEMBER 15, 2025
The week of November 11, 2025, a new wave of layoffs affected the Crystal Dynamics studio. Around thirty employees were let go, following a restructuring of the company. Once again, the studio ensured that the development of the Tomb Raider game was not impacted and that this restructuring aimed to create a new operating system within the company with savings to ensure the
Truly reassuring statements?
In recent years, the video game industry has become fragile. Today, we no longer count the number of canceled gamesof closed studios et employees laid off. So, the statements from large groups like Embracer or Amazon are not really reassuring. A little over a year ago, Microsoft presented at its E3 conference a long gameplay video you remake them Perfect Dark. A year later, the game was canceled et le studio The Initiative closed its doors.
So, to see so many problems, gravitate towards the development of this new Tomb Raiderwith missing information, an announcement and a presentation that are slow in coming, are all factors that cause players to start to ask yourself many questions.
According to numerous rumors in the corridors and some information from insiders, the development of the game would have been very complicated with several reboots (at least partial), and a not really certain direction of the project. So much so that to this day, there is reason to be concerned and to ask serious questions on the future of the license.
The only thing that reassures us is to see that Amazon Studios does not seem to abandon its LIVE Action series. A few weeks ago we learned that actress Sophie Turner, the star of Game Of Throneswas going to play Lara Croft in this project. The start of production is set for January 19, 2026. We can therefore think that, if Amazon continues its involvement in the series (which we thought was dead), it is because the group also intends to focus on video games. To be continued.
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