Well, it was inevitable that Crystal Dynamics were going to make the next Tomb Raider game, given how popular and successful the recent Survivor trilogy was. The only real questions were in the details. Fortunately, one of those details has just popped up from the woodwork. Even better, the detail in question has to do with the graphics of said next game. From the news we’re getting, it’s going to be good. At least, it’d better be good. I would be pretty disappointed if they can’t make Unreal Engine 5 work.

Rise of the Unreal Engine 5

A hyper-realistic Tomb Raider game? Well, minus the visual glitches, of course.

Crystal Dynamics has just announced on Twitter that they’ve just started the development of their next Tomb Raider video game. That’s the good news here. The better news is that this new installation of Lara Croft‘s latest adventure will use Unreal Engine 5. This is the same graphics engine that the PS5 and Xbox Series S/X uses, so we should see a major graphics upgrade from previous games. The exact Tweet from Crystal Dynamics is as follows:

“Crystal Dynamics is incredibly excited about the future of Unreal and how it will help us take our storytelling to the next level. That’s why we’re proud to announce that our next #tombraider game is being built on Unreal Engine 5!”

Unfortunately, this mystery next Tomb Raider game is too early in development for us to have any more details on it. We don’t have a release, or even a title. Not even a working one. That’s something we’ll have to wait for Crystal Dynamics to tell us when they’ve decided on it. Tune in Later to find out when that will be.

Tomb Raider: Newer and Better Graphics?

"Tomb Raider" Unreal Engine 5 Announcement by Crystal Dynamics.
Which means that picture of Lara Croft is going to get even more good-looking than this.

So what’s the deal with Unreal Engine 5? Well, as I mentioned before, it’s the graphics engine for the PS5 and Xbox Series S/X. Technically, it supports all existing systems (including the PS4 and Xbox One), but really, this latest incarnation of the Unreal Engine is for the next-generation consoles. This means that in all likelihood, this mystery next Tomb Raider game will also be for the next-generation consoles. It may or may not be playable on the PS4 and Xbox One, but primarily, it’s very likely for the PS5 and Xbox Series S/X. And with Unreal Engine 5 behind it, the next adventure of Lara Croft might very well look like the Lumen demo Unreal Engine released on YouTube back on May 13, 2020.

I swear, this Lumen demo even looks like a Tomb Raider game.

Hopefully, the next Tomb Raider game is going to look as stunning as that Lumen demo. I would be sorely disappointed if that wasn’t the case. Although, I would also be sorely disappointed if Crystal Dynamics don’t bring back Sam for this sequel. Since that’s probably not going to happen anytime soon, I guess I’ll just have to stay disappointed.

Source: Twitter, Unreal Engine YouTube