New Tomb Raider Announced, Runs On Unreal Engine 5

During Epic's State of Unreal event, Crystal Dynamics confirmed that it has begun work on the next Tomb Raider game and that it will run on Unreal Engine 5.

Work on the new Tomb Raider has only "just started," the developer said during the briefing. That being said, Crystal Dynamics believes Unreal Engine 5 will help developers unlock "next-level storytelling and gameplay experiences."

The studio added: "Our goal is to push the envelope of fidelity, and to deliver the high quality cinematic action-adventure experience that fans deserve from both Crystal Dynamics and the Tomb Raider franchise."

This will be the first new entry in the series since 2018's Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which was developed by Eidos Montreal. It wrapped up the events of a new trilogy that started in 2013.

Crystal Dynamics is keeping busy, as it is also working alongside Microsoft on the new Perfect Dark game with The Initiative. The studio also continues to support its latest game, 2020's Marvel's Avengers.

During the State of Unreal event, Epic revealed a slide that showed off the numerous other developers working on Unreal Engine 5 projects at the moment, and there are many. The new game development toolsuite for next-gen games just launched officially today.

CD Projekt Red is among the many developers working on an Unreal Engine 5 game right now, with the Polish studio using the technology to run The Witcher 4.

It appears Crystal Dynamics announced the new Tomb Raider so early in part to help it staff up. The studio followed up the announcement with a link to its careers page, calling on experienced developers to apply for a position to work on the game. As we know by now, oftentimes early game announcements are really more about finding staff, an issue that may be particularly pronounced now during the so-called "great resignation."

This might also help explain why a number of high-profile game projects have been announced earlier than expected, like Quantic Dream's Star Wars Eclipse, Marvel's Wolverine, The Witcher 4, and more.