New Tomb Raider Game Announced, Will Run on Unreal Engine 5

Epic Games held its State of Unreal showcase that focused on its Unreal Engine 5. And while it didn’t contain much news, Crystal Dynamics did take the time to announce the next Tomb Raider game.

Franchise General Manager Dallas Dickinson showed up at the end of the presentation to announce said new installment. He didn’t give any concrete details — only that it will run on Unreal Engine 5 — so don’t expect a release window or platforms. However, Dickinson did say that the team is just starting development, so those details may be quite far down the line.

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Dickinson also stated that the engine allows Crystal Dynamics to create “next-gen level storytelling and gameplay experiences.” He then elaborated, saying it would “push the envelope of fidelity and to deliver the high-quality cinematic action adventure experience that fans deserve from both Crystal Dynamics and the Tomb Raider franchise.”

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

While likely just a coincidence, the final words seem to hint at Crystal Dynamics returning to a franchise it is better suited for, as it spent the last few years developing Marvel’s Avengers. Crystal Dynamics struggled from the reveal of the game onwards, which culminated in publisher Square Enix revealing that it also thought that Crystal Dynamics was a poor fit for the type of game Avengers was. The studio had made its name making single-player action games like Tomb Raider, so getting it to develop a multiplayer live-service title seemed peculiar.

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This will be Crystal Dynamics’ first venture back into Tomb Raider since 2015’s Rise of the Tomb Raider.  Eidos-Montréal developed 2018’s Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which was when Crystal Dynamics was presumably busy making Avengers. And between the announcement of a new Tomb Raider and the reveal that the studio was helping The Initiative create the upcoming Perfect Dark reboot, it seems possible that development for Avengers is winding down.

This also marks yet another developer moving away from its internal engine to work on Unreal. CD Projekt Red announced that the next Witcher title is also moving to Unreal Engine 5 after the studio had spent years on its own engine.

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