The Tomb Raider series is one of the few in gaming that has lasted the test of time. Originally releasing on the original PlayStation and Sega Saturn in 1996, the character has been through several recreations, and is now under the Square Enix umbrella where a successful trilogy of reboot titles have used the character since 2013. While we don’t know what the future holds specifically, it does seem as if there is some want to unify the many versions of Lara Croft.
In a video posted to celebrate the franchise’s 25th anniversary, Game Director Will Kerslake, who has worked in some capacity on the series since the 2013 reboot, dropped hints about what to expect for Lara’s future endeavors. While he said they did not have a major game announcement coming soon, he said they did want to unify the timelines of the franchise. Specifically, the rookie that is seen in the recent reboot trilogy and the seasoned and savy adventurer from the classic titles.
“We envision the future of Tomb Raider unfolding after [the rebooted trilogy], telling stories that build upon both the breadth of Core Design and Crystal Dynamics’ games, looking to unify these timelines,” he said. “With Tomb Raider’s extensive history, this is not an easy task, and we ask for patience as we go through the process.”
It’s unclear what he means here, if it’s simply saying they want to find a tone that strikes in the middle of the two ‘timelines’ or if he’s talking about some actual full on alternate dimension-style crossover. It seems as if whatever the plan, it’ll be awhile before we see it. They also tease that even though no major game announcement is coming soon, they have some other things in store throughout the year. Last year Square filed trademark for something called Tomb Raider Ultimate Experience, so it’s possible a collection of the series could be coming.
As for the reboot trilogy, all three games (Tomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of the Tomb Raider) are available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.