Lara Croft’s big comeback at the hands of Amazon has hit yet another hitch. After TV show setbacks and a delay for Tomb Raider 1 “reimagining” Legacy of Atlantis, Amazon’s gaming boss has confirmed yet another delay: Lara’s other adventure, Tomb Raider: Catalyst, now won’t arrive until some time in 2028.
Amazon head of gaming Jeffrey Gattis broke the news in a fairly offhand manner while chatting with The Game Business’ Chris Dring. Discussing Amazon’s games strategy, and its ambition to create a broad gaming portfolio following the recent relaunch of its Luna streaming platform, Gattis s aid, “We’ve obviously announced the two Tomb Raider titles: Atlantis comes 12th February next year and then we’ll follow on in 2028 with the next one.”
Amazon announced a partnership with current Tomb Raider steward Crystal Dynamics back in 2022. However, it wasn’t until last December the pair finally revealed the extent of its plans, announcing not one but two Tomb Raider games. The first, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis – a ground-up remake of the very first Tomb Raider – was originally due this year, but was delayed to February 2027 back in June. Which might help fix some of Eurogamer editor-in-chief Chris Tapsell’s concerns that it feels “strangely double-A”.
As for the second game, Tomb Raider: Catalyst, it’s a brand-new entry in the series, flinging Lara Croft toward India for a fresh spot of archaeological adventuring. Catalyst was expected to launch for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC in 2027 – although, thanks to Gattis, we now know otherwise.
It hasn’t been the smoothest of starts for Amazon’s big Lara Croft revival then, and there’s been calamity and controversy elsewhere too. In June, it emerged Legacy of Atlantis was being developed using AI, which Crystal Dynamics director of experience Jeff Adams later claimed helped the team “get to [the] right answers faster”. When asked to elaborate, however, the interviewer was shut down by Amazon’s PR. As for Amazon Prime’s live-action Tomb Raider TV show, filming ground to a halt earlier this year when lead actor Sophie Turner suffered a back injury on set, although shooting has now resumed.
Amid all this, Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics has undergone multiple rounds of layoffs. In June it confirmed a fresh wave of cuts impacting 20 staff, making for its fourth round of layoffs in less than a year.