The first major Tomb Raider game since 2018 is on the way, developer Crystal Dynamics has revealed, with Epic’s brand new Unreal Engine 5 powering its creation.
The developer, which is responsible for the gritty reboot trilogy that spanned the last two console generations, is finally bringing Lara back with a new game for Xbox Series X and PS5 era.
In announcing the new game during the State of Unreal 2022 live stream, the developer said it plans to “push the envelope of fidelity”, meaning we’re likely to see the most lifelike Lara yet and lighting technologies that make full use of the latest consoles and gaming PCs.
Details are as scarce as they could possibly be right now, with no indication of a potential release date, no title, no preview images, trailer or platform information.
However, we are promised a cinematic entry worthy of a place in the pantheon of the iconic Tomb Raider franchise with major advances possible thanks to the Unreal Engine 5 development platform. It has already been used in The Matrix Awakens demo, and CD Project Red has already confirmed the next The Witcher game will use UE5.
“This new engine translates into next-level story-telling and gameplay experiences. And that’s why we are proud to announce we have just started development of our next Tomb Raider game, powered by Unreal Engine 5,” said Tomb Raider franchise GM Dallas Dickinson.
“Our goal is to push the envelope of fidelity and deliver the high quality, action-adventure experience fans deserve from both Crystal Dynamics and the Tomb Raider franchise.”
The announcement of a new Tomb Raider game is exciting enough, but the possibilities with unlocked by the Unreal Engine 5, this is certainly an intriguing prospect.
Epic officially made Unreal Engine 5 available to download today, a couple of years after it was first announced. The new technologies include Lumen, which promises “a fully dynamic global illumination solution” and Nanite, which gives developers the chance to “create games and experiences with massive amounts of geometric detail.”
All in all, it’s massively, massively exciting.
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