14 DAY TRIAL // A rumor has surfaced saying that the next major release in the Tomb Raider series will happen during the Christmas of 2011. Crystal Dynamics' new game will be available, apparently, on all major platforms, with the PC, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 being the ones mentioned by the source.
The rumor was originated by Eurogamer and also said that some of the concept art listed under Tomb Raider, to be found on ex-Crystal Dynamics developer Joel Boucquemont's website, is related to this future release. The game is at the moment the sole focus of the studio, with two titles in development, this major unannounced game and a downloadable release called Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light that is about to come out.
Eurogamer's source also stated that the leaked document, which appeared on the Internet last July was related to this project. The document revealed that the next Tomb Raider game would be a reboot shifting the focus of the series on a young and inexperienced Lara Croft who is exploring tombs on an island situated in the proximity of the Japanese coast. This new take-on the series is also supposed to be an open world survival horror.
It was known that Crystal Dynamics houses two teams, one to work on small downloadable Tomb Raider games and a bigger one to work on the major releases in the franchise. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is the name of the downloadable title and will be released on the PlayStation Network, the Xbox Live Arcade and the PC. It will be an isometric platformer with a heavy emphasis on online and offline cooperative gameplay. Players will fill in the shoes of either Lara Croft or an ancient Mayan warrior called Totec and work together to overcome the various environmental challenges the developers have cooked up for them. The title is supposed to be outed this summer, but a release date has not been announced yet.