New 'Tomb Raider' Game Announced, Could Arrive In 2018

Video game publisher Square Enix has announced that a new entry to the “Tomb Raider” series is in development. Not much is known about the upcoming game, but the publisher did say it will share more information in 2018.

Square Enix made the announcement through various social media platforms yesterday. The company said that it wishes it could share more information right now, but it is “taking a new approach this time” with its announcement. What Square Enix made clear however is that a new “Tomb Raider” is indeed coming.

“Driven by out goal of putting our fans first, we want you to know that it won’t be very long between the official reveal and when you can play,” Square Enix said. “Our Journey together will begin with a major event in 2018. We simply can’t wait to take you on Lara Croft’s defining adventure.”

It’s being speculated that the “major event” that Square Enix is referring to could be the release of the new “Tomb Raider” movie, which stars Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft. The new movie is slated to be released on March 16, 2018. Another possible major event could be the annual E3 conference, which takes place in Los Angeles, California in the month of June.

Square Enix didn’t give out any more details about the new “Tomb Raider” game, but it does seem like its first official reveal will be close to the game’s release date. Closing the gap between the first reveal and its release should be good news to fans who can’t wait to get their hands on the game. For now, it looks like the new “Tomb Raider” game will be released sometime in 2018.

It remains unclear which studio will be developing the new “Tomb Raider” game. Crystal Dynamics, the studio behind the 2013 reboot and 2015’s “Rise of the Tomb Raider,” might make a return. However, a leak from October 2016 suggested that Eidos Montreal might be the studio behind the new new “Tomb Raider” game. Eidos Montreal and Crystal Dynamics are also working together on a new game based on “The Avengers” as part of Marvel’s partnership with Square Enix.

The leak from October 2016 also showed that the title of the next entry to the Lara Croft franchise will be “Shadow of the Tomb Raider.” Square Enix hasn’t confirmed the title yet, but the eagle-eyed gaming historian Liam Robertson noticed something about the publisher’s announcement, as pointed out by Polygon. The first letters of each sentence in Square Enix’s announcement actually spell the word “shadow.”

The last game in the franchise, “Rise of the Tomb Raider,” was first released in November 2015 for the Xbox One. It was later released for the PC in January 2016, while the PlayStation 4 version of the game was released almost a year after the Xbox One version in October 2016.