Amazon Games will be the publisher behind the next mainline Tomb Raider game, it said Thursday. Developer Crystal Dynamics is building the game on Unreal Engine 5, and the game will be released on multiple platforms.
The e-commerce giant started dabbling in the gaming industry by creating Amazon Games back in 2012, but the studio hasn’t published any major gaming IP like Tomb Raider in its 10-year history. As such, the Crystal Dynamics deal moves Amazon substantially forward in the gaming industry.
Square Enix sold Crystal Dynamics, the studio behind the Tomb Raider franchise, to Embracer Group earlier this year to increase financial bandwidth to invest more in blockchain, AI and cloud gaming. That selloff has opened the gates for Crystal Dynamics to make unique publishing deals like this one.
“Crystal Dynamics has an extraordinary opportunity following our acquisition by Embracer to redefine what a publishing relationship is for Tomb Raider,” Scot Amos, head of studio at Crystal Dynamics, said in Thursday’s press release.
“Transformative is what we’re looking for, and with Amazon Games, we found a team that shares our creative vision, ambitions, and values for a Lara Croft universe across the spectrum of possibilities.”