Amazon to Publish ‘Tomb Raider’ Title in Boost to Gaming Ambitions

(Bloomberg) — Amazon.com Inc. has struck an agreement with video game developer Crystal Dynamics to release the next title in the popular Tomb Raider franchise, giving a boost to the e-commerce giant’s struggling gaming ambitions.

The next installment in the single-player adventure chronicling the British archaeologist Lara Croft is yet to be named or have a release date, according to a statement from Amazon. The title is in early development with California-based Crystal Dynamics, which will “take the storytelling to the next level in the biggest, most expansive Tomb Raider game to date,” Amazon said.

The agreement expands the Seattle-based company’s game publishing efforts under Amazon Game Studios, which set out to develop titles about eight years ago but has had only limited success so far. Amazon announced three games in 2016: New World, Breakaway and Crucible. Breakaway was canceled. Crucible was released, then un-released, then also canceled. Other projects, including ones code-named Nova and Intensity, were shelved before they were even revealed.

Late last year Amazon finally had a modest hit with New World, a multiplayer adventure game. And earlier this year it released Lost Ark. The newTomb Raider title will be Amazon Games’ first single-player narrative game.

The Tomb Raider franchise includes more than 20 titles and has sold more than 95 million copies since its 1996 debut, according to Amazon. Some recent installments of the series, including Shadow of the Tomb Raider, were published by Japan’s Square Enix Holdings Co. Square Enix owned the franchise as well as Crystal Dynamics until August of this year, when it sold both to the Swedish video game conglomerate Embracer Group AB.

–With assistance from Jason Schreier.

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