While many had suspected this would be the case, it has been announced that Tomb Raider: Catalyst has been delayed until 2028. This confirmation comes directly from the boss of Amazon’s video game department, Jeffrey Gattis, who told The Game Business that the title was now expected to release sometime in 2028, with Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis still due to release on February 12, 2027. Gattis stated, “Atlantis comes February 12 of next year, and then we’ll follow on in 2028 with the next one[Catalyst].”
Both titles were announced at the same time during The Video Game Awards last December. Tomb Raider: Catalyst was announced several years ago, shortly after the acquisition of Crystal Dynamics by Embracer Group from Square Enix. Under Square Enix, the studio had developed the first two entries in a rebooted Tomb Raider series featuring a younger and less stoic Lara Croft still trying to become the titular tomb raider we know and love. It was unclear at the time if the next entry was planned to continue this, but the trailer last year made clear we would see a return of classic Lara in a brand new adventure.
An official blurb for the game reads:
Tomb Raider: Catalyst marks a bold direction for the series as Lara Croft embarks on a new adventure across Northern India. Tomb Raider: Catalyst is set in the wake of a mythical cataclysm that has unleashed ancient secrets and awakened the mysterious forces that guard them. When the most notorious treasure hunters from around the world descend on the region, Lara races to uncover the truth buried beneath the fractured landscape and stop those who would use its power for their own gain. As the ancient world collides with the present, Lara must decide who to trust among rivals and allies to prevent a catastrophe and protect a secret that could reshape the future.
In June of this year, we also learned that Legacy of Atlantis was delayed until February of next year, which, based on statements made, doesn’t look like it will change. Because of this schedule change, though, it was expected that Catalyst would be affected as well, which we now have confirmation of. In March, Crystal Dynamics also underwent its fourth round of redundancies in a year, with only around 70 roles being confirmed to have been cut, though the second round had an undisclosed number. At the time, the studio stated it was “fully committed to the future development” of Tomb Raider titles.
Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is a fully remade version of the first ever tomb raider title from 1996. Both it and Catalyst will be developed using the Unreal Engine 5 and will be released for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC. While Legacy of Atlantis has been confirmed for the Nintendo Switch 2, Catalyst has not.
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