Tomb Raider studio Crystal Dynamics has announced that it's been hit by layoffs, but the developer says that work on the next game in the aforementioned action-adventure series remains "unaffected".
In a post on LinkedIn, Crystal Dynamics says it has "made the very difficult decision to part ways with a number of [its] talented colleagues", blaming "evolving business conditions" for the decision. The studio stops short of revealing how many employees have been let go.
Crystal Dynamics goes on to say that while its decision was not "made lightly", it was "necessary...to ensure the long-term health of [the] studio and core creative priorities in a continually shifting market".
In closing, Crystal Dynamics thanks its "teams, players, and partners" for helping it to "build a creative, sustainable, and resilient tomorrow". That, the studio says, "includes the future of Tomb Raider, which remains unaffected" by the layoffs.
It's been five years since Crystal Dynamics' last original game, namely 2020's Marvel's Avengers, which ended service in January 2023. Other than that, the studio has also worked alongside Aspyr on remasters of the first six Tomb Raider games and the first two titles in the Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver sub-series.
Technically speaking, a new game in the Tomb Raider series is in development, although Crystal Dynamics and publisher Amazon Games have revealed nothing about the new project yet. It's likely to be a while before we learn exactly what direction the studios intend to take with the property in future.
Still, even without a flagship game announcement, the Tomb Raider franchise remains active. Last year, an animated series by the name of Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft debuted on Netflix, and a live-action series is also in the works.
Crystal Dynamics' decision to lay off employees may well be connected to the fact that in July, Xbox canceled its Perfect Dark reboot, on which Crystal Dynamics was serving as a co-development studio alongside The Initiative.
