As readers will know, I’m a big fan of the Tomb Raider franchise and, like many followers of the intrepid Lara Croft, we find that news of her next adventures is either thin on the ground or veering off in predictable and woke directions. The recent acquisitions and changes in ownership of major IPs (intellectual properties) have ended up with a confusing picture, but ultimately the company that owns the Tomb Raider IP is Embracer Group which acquired Crystal Dynamics, EIDOS, and Square Enix Montreal back in 2022. However, Embracer is closing gaming studios and/or laying off employees, so one never knows when the next sword will strike.
Having said that, we do know that Crystal Dynamics is said to be working on the next major Tomb Raider game, that it will be published by Amazon Games and will be using Unreal Engine 5, which is about all we know for now, apart from an image released by Crystal Dynamics which portrays Lara as a butch, transgender version of herself. Why?
Tomb Raider TV Series
In May 2024, Amazon announced that it had ordered a new series based on Tomb Raider and it’s to be written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge; she of Fleabag fame – a series that I simply couldn’t get my head around whatsoever. Anyway, it turns out that she’s a big fan of Lara Croft, so that’s something.
Netflix Animated Series
Tomb Raider: The Legend Of Lara Croft is set to roll out on Netflix in October 2024 and is basically a cartoon, for which I have zero interest.
Tomb Raider Reloaded – Mobile Game
Tomb Raider Reloaded is simply a cash-grab by Netflix and yet another example of milking the cash cow that the franchise has become – think Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and many others.
Tomb Raider Will End Up As An Anti-Colonial, Politically Correct, Woke Statement
Don’t believe me? Here’s an extract from the rule book of a new tabletop RPG game, Tomb Raider: Shadows Of Truth…
Raiding, as depicted in the original Tomb Raider games and stories, involves going to ancient tombs and historical sites of different civilisations and acquiring artefacts. It operates on the assumption of ‘finders keepers’ that grants raiders with the means and the drive to claim ownership of artefacts, regardless of whether they have any historical or cultural claim to the treasure.
And later…
Lara no longer decorates her mantle with mythic artefacts – as a raider she prioritises seeking out the truth. Much of this game is inspired by her humanity, struggle with heroism, and her tenacity. We believe that all three aspects are an important component in creating a game that celebrates history and culture while acknowledging the respect and work required to live in a world wounded by colonialism…etc, etc
So, according to those declarations we’re going to see Lara Croft on a worldwide tour, giving anti-colonial lectures and presentations on how not to raid tombs and how to return stolen artifacts to their rightful owners. I would posit that most gamers playing as a totally fictional character in a fantasy world couldn’t give a monkey’s about seeking out the truth unless it was an essential plot device. That’s even more true if the writers inject their own woke agenda which is all too common in this politically correct world.
With all that said, I’m hoping that the next major Tomb Raider game will focus on tomb raiding, plenty of action, and puzzle solving like we used to see in the original platforming of the earlier games and less focus on her daddy issues and troubled childhood, which in later games became nauseating.
Hey, people! She’s not real!
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