There were high expectations to see Lara Croft at Friday's The Game Awards after it was confirmed in advance that we would learn more about her future at the event. And we did. Much more, in fact. It turned out that not only is one game in the works, but two.
During a press event the other day, there was an opportunity to ask Crystal Dynamics about these games (thanks Polygon), and the discussions included the question whether background information is needed to understand the upcoming Tomb Raider: Catalyst, which will continue the story of one of the gaming world's biggest icons. Do you need to be a Lara Croft expert, have played the games, followed the Netflix series, and seen the movies to be able to appreciate the plot? Fortunately, the answer is no, no prior knowledge is required, and studio head Scot Amos explains:
"This is the furthest point in [Lara's] career, this is where she is right now. So this is a great time for those long-time fans to say, 'What's next for Lara Croft?' For new fans, we've designed Catalyst so that players can jump in right now and pick up with her adventures as-is. There's no homework required."
However, if you have played the previous games, there will be some extra goodies to enjoy:
"You can jump right into Catalyst and feel this complete adventure top to bottom and understand the story and the characters without having to know any of that prehistory. And of course, there's that level of being able to satisfy the needs for folks who've been long-time fans, as well as getting new players to jump in and experience it."
In short, it sounds like it will be a good gateway for anyone who wants to experience Tomb Raider in 2027, but already in 2026, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis will be released, which is a kind of reinterpretation and reboot of the first game in the series. This is therefore a golden opportunity to get ready for Catalyst, an adventure that Amos describes as "the largest Tomb Raider we've made to date."