What Amazon announced last night, has struck a deal with game studio Crystal Dynamics that will see the American retail giant take over publishing the next Tomb Raider game. Amazon is probably hoping for a boost to its gaming ambitions, which have so far not been very successful.
Amazon is getting into game publishing in a big way
The name of the next game in the “Tomb Raider” series has yet to be announced, nor does it have a possible release date. However, the start of the cooperation with Crystal Dynamics was apparently important enough for Amazon to now issue a full press release. He states that the new title is in an early stage of development. Amazon also wants to take storytelling to the next level with the game and release the “biggest and most comprehensive” game in the “Tomb Raider” series to date. Although Amazon has been running its so-called Amazon Game Studios for years, it has so far only been able to celebrate minor successes with the game “New World” and its successor title “Lost Ark.”
The new “Tomb Raider” title would be Amazon’s step onto the big stage of AAA titles. The first game in the series was released in 1996. Since then, the various editions of the series have sold more than 95 million copies worldwide. In the most recent editions, Square Enix acted as publisher before the entire franchise and developer studio Crystal Dynamics were sold to Swedish gaming conglomerate Embracer Group in August 2022.
It remains to be seen when Lara Croft will make her way through her gaming world on Amazon’s behalf, because as mentioned, there hasn’t been any corresponding announcement yet.
