Next Tomb Raider Game to Link Old Series With New Titles

Crystal Dynamics has confirmed that the next Tomb Raider game will unify the various timelines that currently exist.

Speaking in a special video meant to celebrate the franchise’s 25th anniversary, game director Will Kerslake explained how the developer wants to tie together all of the “established adventures” of Lara Croft.

We're celebrating 25 Years of Tomb Raider throughout 2021, with community features, nostalgic content, and surprises along the way! pic.twitter.com/cOmsfVj8jr
— Tomb Raider (@tombraider) January 27, 2021

Kerslake said, “We’ve got big ambitions for the future of Tomb Raider. Our origin trilogy told the story of Lara’s early days where she was forged into a survivor, became a hero, and ultimately, a tomb raider — while the classic games contained a seasoned and competent adventurer….

“We envisioned a future of Tomb Raider unfolding after these established adventures, telling stories that build upon the breadth of both Core Design and Crystal Dynamics’ games, working to unify these timelines.”

This suggests that Crystal Dynamics is treating its reboot of the series as a prequel to the stories told in the earlier Tomb Raider games created by Core Design, rather than an alternate timeline. The Crystal Dynamics origin trilogy essentially explains how Lara Croft became the seasoned adventurer that most fans know her as. But future games will seek to unify the timelines and build upon the original games.

“With Tomb Raider’s extensive history, [unifying the timelines] is not an easy task,” Kerslake said. Despite making the revelation about the studio’s future for the series, Kerslake was quick to point out that the company has no plans for any game announcements in the short term.

“We ask for your patience as we go through the development process. We don’t have plans for a major game announcement in the near future. That said… we do have one thing we want to share with you.”

The big announcement? A Tomb Raider animated series from Legendary is in the works for Netflix, taking place after the events of the video game reboot trilogy.