Amazon has struck a deal with Crystal Dynamics, a San Mateo, California–based game developer, to publish a new video game based on the Tomb Raider franchise, the companies said on Thursday.
The currently untitled game is in early development and does not yet have a release date. The latest installment, set to be a multi-platform single-player narrative adventure, will include exploration, puzzle solving and combative interactions with enemies.
The Tomb Raider game will be published after MGM, acquired by Amazon earlier this year for $8.5 billion, lost the film rights to the Tomb Raider franchise earlier this summer. A planned sequel with returning star Alicia Vikander was also scrapped at the time and the film rights have since returned to the producer Graham King and his GK Films.
It’s not immediately clear what Amazon’s next plans may be for film versions of Tomb Raider, but the video game installment is a major step forward for the e-commerce giant’s gaming ambitions. The upcoming Tomb Raider game will be Amazon’s first single-player narrative title and follows other deals Amazon has struck to publish games, including Lost Ark from the South Korean developer Smilegate and Blue Protocol from the Japanese developer Bandai Namco Online Inc.
Crystal Dynamics has been behind more than 20 video games based on the Tomb Raider IP, with the latest being the trilogy of Tomb Raider (2013), Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015) and Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018).
“Tomb Raider is one of the most beloved IPs in entertainment history,” Christoph Hartmann, vp Amazon Games, said in a statement. “Amazon Games is committed to bringing players games of the highest quality, from the best developers, across all variety of platforms and genres, and we’re honored by the opportunity to work with this storied developer and franchise. Our team is incredibly excited about collaborating with the talented and visionary Crystal Dynamics team to bring the next chapter of Lara Croft’s saga to players around the world.”