Amazon Games to publish next Tomb Raider game

Previously, Square Enix was in charge of publishing Tomb Raider after it acquired Eidos Interactive and Crystal Dynamics in 2009. Their fruitful collaboration ended earlier this year after Square Enix sold off multiple studios, including Crystal Dynamics. With it, the rights to their intellectual properties like Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, and Thief were transferred to the Embracer Group.

Over the three decades since its existence, Crystal Dynamics has developed and published a large array of award-winning titles. Globally cherished titles like Legacy of Kain, which could be getting a remake, and Tomb Raider are only a fraction of it.

Keep in mind that Tomb Raider alone has more than 20 video games. Also, the franchise has sold more than 95 million copies since its initial release in 1996 and is cherished by more than 170 million people across the world. Their most recent "Survivor Trilogy" has garnered upwards of 200 "Best of" awards and nominations. This should come as a surprise to no one considering it's composed of: Tomb Raider (2013), Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015), and Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018).

Tech giant Amazon's motives for embarking on media production in the form of movies or TV shows are pretty self-explanatory. Building up a repertoire on their streaming platform Prime Video makes the investment worthwhile. But dipping their toes in the video game development sector is something we have seen from them only recently.

Their latest agreement with Crystal Dynamics signals a further expansion of Amazon games into triple-A titles. Their growing game division is now widely recognized for developing their MMO title called New World, which was released last year. Their valiant effort carried over to 2022 when they collaborated with the Korean studio Smilegate to publish Lost Ark, their Diablo-styled action game.

Last week at The Game Awards, it was revealed that Amazon Games has partnered up with Bandai Namco, to publish their upcoming anime-inspired MMO called Blue Protocol early in 2023. All of these ventures, however, are Amazon's swing at live-service online games, so the Tomb Raider agreement is a step into uncharted territory for Amazon. But considering their financial backing and dedication towards expanding into gaming voiced by the VP of Amazon Games, Christoph Hartmann, it's safe to say that Amazon's reach in the gaming industry is expanding.