Amazon Just Killed My Interest In The New Tomb Raider Game

Lara Croft standing in a cave in Tomb Raider (2013).

By Kyle Gratton Published 34 minutes ago Kyle Gratton is an editor and writer based out of Kansas City. He received a bachelor's degree, dual majoring in English and History with a minor in Film and Media Studies, and has been a senior staff writer and reviewer for Screen Rant's Gaming section since 2021, with roles in editorial, and various freelance projects. A terminal Midwesterner who graduated from the University of Kansas, Kyle also has knowledge and interest in literature, film, film adaptions of literature, and history. Find Kyle on Bluesky: kwg.bsky.social and Letterboxd: KyleG5 Sign in to your ScreenRant account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

I had a lot of interest in the new Tomb Raider game being developed by Crystal Dynamics, but a tie-in with the upcoming Amazon series is now giving me a lot of pause. Crystal Dynamics has been at the helm of the Tomb Raider games for years, and I'm an especially big fan of the studio's reboot trilogy that started in 2013, the Survivor Trilogy comprising Tomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

It has now been seven years since Shadow came out. Publishing of the untitled, unrevealed new game is being undertaken by Amazon Games. Amazon and its many divisions have taken primary control of the IP, and Amazon MGM Studios is now producing a new live-action series starring Sophie Turner. Tomb Raider has long been a multimedia franchise, but Amazon's new plans don't sound appealing.

tomb raider underworld lara croft

Eurogamer reported that the new Tomb Raider game will share a narrative continuity with the Amazon series. The info comes from production company Story Kitchen, which is involved with the Phoebe Waller-Bridge-led show. Story Kitchen's website says its partnership with Amazon MGM Studios "will reinvent the franchise on a massive scale, interconnecting a new live-action television series and video games into a unified storytelling universe."

Details beyond that appear to be very scarce, so there's no real indication of what this "unified storytelling universe" will entail. The two being interconnected suggests that they will not adapt the same story, but will instead highlight different arcs in the same timeline. This also opens up the possibility of the new game's Lara Croft being modeled after Sophie Turner.

I Don’t Want To Watch A Series Just To Get The Whole Story

Lara Croft (Hayley Atwell) holding two pistols in Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft

I fully welcome a new live-action Tomb Raider series; with Waller-Bridge and Turner attached, I think it has a lot of potential. The problem is, I don't necessarily want the story of Crystal Dynamics' upcoming entry to extend beyond the game or any potential sequels. If it turns into another trilogy, will I have to watch the Amazon series to know what happens in the time between games? Will I miss key character development if I don't watch the show?

Tomb Raider is an incredibly recognizable multimedia franchise, but tying one project to another in a different medium doesn't ensure audiences will buy into both. There's a real risk that many, like me, will simply lose some interest because one or the other isn't necessarily guaranteed to have a self-contained story.

I'm already wary of Amazon taking over the James Bond films – though I was pleasantly surprised to see Denis Villeneuve attached as director of Bond 26 – and an overly ambitious multimedia storyline for Tomb Raider doesn't assuage any concerns about the tech conglomerate's ability to steward these legacy franchises. Crystal Dynamics' Survivor Trilogy is arguably the franchise's highest point since the movies starring Angelina Jolie, and this kind of meddling risks the developer losing that momentum.

The intent to "reinvent the franchise on a massive scale" is the exact kind of investor-targeted drivel that I don't want steering Tomb Raider moving forward. Crystal Dynamics' game hasn't even been revealed yet, so I'll try to stay cautiously optimistic, but this plan for an interconnected story has really killed my interest for the time being.

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