Crystal Dynamics today announced that they have just begun working on the next game in the Tomb Raider franchise. It was confirmed by the developer today as part of the Epic Games presentation on the reveal of Unreal Engine 5.

The announcement, which you can see below, stated that

“This new engine translates to next-level storytelling and gameplay experiences, and that’s why we’re thrilled to announce today that we’ve just started development of our next Tomb Raider game, powered by Unreal Engine 5. “Our goal is to push the envelope of fidelity and to deliver the high-quality cinematic action-adventure experience that fans deserve from both Crystal Dynamics and the Tomb Raider franchise. We can’t wait to take this journey together.”

The last game of the franchise, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, was passed off to Eidos Montreal as Crystal was working on Marvel’s Avengers. As poorly reviewed as that game has been, Crystal is also working on the Perfect Dark reboot with Microsoft. We’ll have to see exactly where this game picks up on the events of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, or if it will go in a separate direction. Either way, with development being announced as just begun, I don’t see any further updates for a while.

Tomb Raider is one of the classic franchises that date back over 20 years. Lara Croft is an iconic character. Unreal Engine 5 is going to do wonders for the game, as it will only accentuate the emotional facial features Lara is known for presenting.

We’ll keep you updated on developments as they are announced.