New Tomb Raider game unaffected by Amazon mass layoffs

Despite being hit with major layoffs recently, Amazon Games has confirmed that it will continue to work with Crystal Dynamics on the next Tomb Raider.

Amazon Games had a fair amount of success with New World and Lost Ark, but it's fair to say they've had trouble finding their footing since then. Even with that in mind, it was still a shock when news was announced yesterday that the studio had taken a hit.

“Significant” layoffs.

We already know that development on New World has been halted due to layoffs at Amazon Games. But the game most of us were most worried about was the next Tomb Raider, which Amazon Games had previously confirmed was coming. But don't worry, Tomb Raider doesn't seem to be affected by the layoffs.

Don't worry. Next Tomb Raider wasn't affected by Amazon's layoffs.

Good news for the next long-gone game

Lara Croft is exploring the tomb. She is holding a flashlight in her handgun.

As pointed out by VideoGamer and originally reported by Variety, Amazon Games president Steve Boom confirmed to employees in an internal memo that despite the mass layoffs, the studio is “continuing to work with” Crystal Dynamics on the next Tomb Raider. Considering how tough things have been for Crystal Dynamics recently, we're very happy to finally get some rest here.

Boom's statement also confirms that Amazon Games will continue to collaborate with Maverick Games on an unannounced open-world driving game.

It's unclear why Tomb Raider narrowly avoided the hit of layoffs, but it may be because Amazon Games serves as publisher and is less involved than New World and other games that could be affected. Still, it's good news considering how rocky Tomb Raider's development has been.

Unfortunately, Boom's statement is the closest thing to an update for the next Tomb Raider game in quite some time. Originally announced for 2022, Crystal Dynamics' next big game has only been mentioned a few times and hasn't even had a single trailer yet.

For a while, fans have been a little worried about the status of the next Tomb Raider, but at least we know there won't be any problems with what's happening on Amazon. I hope we get to see something in action in the near future.