Tomb Raider: Catalyst is the start of a new chapter for Lara Croft

One of many exciting reveals at last week's The Game Awards included the announcement of not one, but two Tomb Raider games currently in development at Crystal Dynamics. The first: a remake of 1996's Tomb Raider, called Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, set to launch in 2026. The second: a brand-new game in the franchise, Tomb Raider: Catalyst, currently scheduled for a 2027 release.

Tomb Raider: Catalyst is meant to appeal to both long-time fans of Lara Croft and adventure game fans who have never taken a single step in her boots. While Catalyst will, of course, contain small nods to other entries in the franchise, players won't need any prior knowledge to get into the game.

"This is the furthest point in [Lara's] career, this is where she is right now," studio head Scot Amos explained during a recent Q&A with press. "So this is a great time for those long-time fans to say, 'What's next for Lara Croft?' For new fans, we've designed Catalyst so that players can jump in right now and pick up with her adventures as-is. There's no homework required."

Lara first swung onto the video game scene in 1996 with the release of Tomb Raider on PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and MS-DOS. In the nearly 30 years since, Lara Croft has had loads of adventures, with 2018's Shadow of the Tomb Raider being the most recent entry in the franchise. Amos says that while Catalyst won't erase Lara's past, its narrative won't depend on players knowing their Lara-lore, and is designed to allow fans both old and new to hop right into the action.

"You can jump right into Catalyst and feel this complete adventure top to bottom and understand the story and the characters without having to know any of that prehistory," Amos added. "And of course, there's that level of being able to satisfy the needs for folks who've been long-time fans, as well as getting new players to jump in and experience it."

Set in India (which Amos and game director Will Kerslake called a "fan-favorite location"), Catalyst utilizes Unreal Engine 5 to bring both Lara and her surroundings to life.

"Using that technology has given us a chance to make [things] from these really high peaks with these beautiful, just strikingly gorgeous vistas all the way, to the darkest tombs underground," Amos explained. "There's this amazing amount of depth and breadth that we get to explore and expand on that we haven't been able to do before."

Amos added that Catalyst is "the largest Tomb Raider that we've made to date."

During the Q&A session, Crystal Dynamics was asked if Catalyst would have any connection to the upcoming live-action Tomb Raider series from Amazon, which will star Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones) as Lara Croft. Interestingly, the answer doesn't seem to be "no."

"Certainly, our Amazon partners have been tremendous, and from the beginning they've gotten the idea of this vision we have for this cross-media franchise across both the live-action things during the series, and the two games that we're making right now," Amos said. "We're not here to talk about any details or anything else in the future about the TV series until later on, but certainly it's a great opportunity for us to have all of these things going together, and having so many things in development for Tomb Raider. The fans benefit from all of it."

In the Catalyst teaser trailer, Lara can be seen using a grappling hook, but when asked what other gadgets are in her Arsenal, Amos said more details could be coming in the future. He played coy once again when asked if Catalyst was the beginning of another trilogy or series.

"What I will say is that this is the next chapter for Lara Croft," Amos replied. "This is an all-new adventure for her in Catalyst, and so that is all we're saying today."

Amos added that overall, the Crystal Dynamics team is thrilled with the current state of Catalyst, and excited for fans to get their hands on the game in 2027.

"I think people are going to be completely delighted and surprised with what we can do for this next chapter of Lara Croft."