In 2021, game director Will Kerslake stated that
Crystal Dynamics envisioned the future of
Tomb Raider as taking place after the previous instalments, with the goal of unifying the timelines of both
Core Design's and their own
Tomb Raider games. The development of
Catalyst began in 2022. Crystal Dynamics have divided into two teams: one working on
Catalyst and the other co-developing
Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis (2026), a
remake of the
original 1996 game, with
Flying Wild Hog. A single leadership team oversees both projects to manage shared resources and ensure narrative consistency. Crystal Dynamics are also collaborating with creative staff from
Amazon Game Studios, which the studio partnered with as publisher in 2022. The developers seek to design the game to be accessible to players without prior knowledge of the series, while remaining appealing to long-time fans. Set in India, which the studio described as a "fan-favorite location", Crystal Dynamics head Scot Amos stated that
Catalyst is "the largest
Tomb Raider that we've made to date". Although a sequel to
Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008), the narrative incorporates the
second reboot trilogy (2013–2018) as
Lara Croft's
origin story.
Catalyst was announced alongside
Legacy of Atlantis at
the Game Awards in December 2025. It is scheduled to release in 2027 for
PlayStation 5,
Windows, and
Xbox Series X/S. == References ==