Since the final entry in the Survivor trilogy in 2018, Tomb Raider hasn't had a new mainline entry. At The Game Awards, it was announced that two new games are in simultaneous development: Tomb Raider: Catalyst and Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis. We attended a presentation the next day to learn some more about the two games and ask our burning questions about both titles.
Catalyst is the next chapter for Lara Croft and shows her in her furthest point yet in her career as an explorer. As the trailer showed, the game is set to take place in northern India, a land rich in ancient history and complete with vast and varied landscapes. The game was noted to be the "largest Tomb Raider game to date," but it was also noted that the game is meant to be a good stepping-in point for new fans of the series without any homework required.
Like the Survivor trilogy, the focus seems to continue to be on human enemies and villains. Lara will have a slick wrist-mounted grappling hook as one of the available tools, but it was teased that if you look at the trailer, you'll see other examples of what she'll be able to use. Her arsenal is well laid out on a table, and it sure looks like a bow and arrow will continue to be an option this time around. Further details to this end were kept under wraps and will be released later.
It was way back in 1996 when the original Tomb Raider was released, and as iconic as the PS1 game became, it is a little rough to play now. That game was on the bleeding edge of 3D platforming and camera controls back then, but it was clearly limited by the technology of the time. Legacy of Atlantis is a full reimagining of the original 1996 game — a "love letter by fans, for fans" — and will be released in 2026 a full 30 years after the original. Beyond a remaster, the new game will make full use of modern technology to take that original game and "reimagine the feel, but for a modern player."
The goal is to make the game honor the original's legacy and make it feel like it felt when it was played for the first time. At the same time, the goal is to make it play like a modern game and adjust the gameplay for modern tastes. It will still be a purely single-player focus, and it will contain the entire Tomb Raider game content as well as some "new surprises." A lot of the same memories from the first game seem to be kept intact for the reimagining: Lara's handstand on the bridge edge, the T-rex fight, and the arrows flying across the pathway in the cave.
There's a lot of pressure being felt in such a balance, but the developers have been listening very intently to the fans. From the sounds of it, some of the original developers behind the 1996 game are still around at Crystal Dynamics, so there's a mix of old and new blood working on this reimagining. Hopefully Legacy of Atlantis will be both a good excuse to take a trip down memory lane for older fans and s another good introduction point for new fans.
Both games use Unreal Engine 5, which is a first for the series. While the Survivor trilogy used the in-house Foundation engine, a pivot to UE5 was made as more people are familiar with the engine and there is broader access to people who have experience with it. Work has been put in to customize it to fit Tomb Raider, but it seems readily apparent that it is capable of the eye-popping visuals and high level of detail befitting the franchise.
With its partnership with Amazon Game Studios, it was a natural question about whether either game would have any tie-ins with the live-action series currently in pre-production over at Amazon MGM Studios. Of course, no real answer was given either way. Similarly, it was asked if Catalyst is the start of a new trilogy of games. While a non-answer was predictably given to that question, it would seem likely that Crystal Dynamics is setting up Lara for another run of games, with voice actress Alix Wilton now voicing the character.
No gameplay of either game was shown at the presentation, and there's no additional footage beyond what was shown at The Game Awards. As such, we were left hungry for a lot more detail about the games, but with Legacy of Atlantis set to release in 2026 and Catalyst in 2027, we will likely get more info soon enough. It has been a good time to be a fan of the Tomb Raider franchise, and the new games look to maintain that trend.