In case you missed it this weekend, some evidence emerged that indicated that Crystal Dynamics is hard at work on the third chapter of its rejuvenated Tomb Raider franchise, with a title called Shadow of the Tomb Raider clearly in the works.
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Now, the title wasn’t actually confirmed by Square Enix, but the concept art we came across, which you can see above, looks pretty official, with a number of titles revealed for the game, along with art featuring the game’s main heroine, Lara Croft, in a number of poses, ready to do battle with a yet unrevealed enemy.
And that leads us to the question…why didn’t Square Enix reveal the title during the Electronic Entertainment Expo last week? The company didn’t seemingly have a lot on its plate, outside of newly revealed DLC for Final Fantasy XV and its forthcoming remake, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, which is releasing this summer. Wouldn’t Shadow of the Tomb Raider have done some good to either Microsoft or Sony?
There is some reasoning behind this, though. Let’s look at the main reasons as to why Square Enix may not have jumped the gun on its reveal.
It May Be Waiting For A Future Show Like Gamescom Or PlayStation Experience
While the Electronic Entertainment Expo is a big game show, it’s not the only one out there. The Gamescom event has become quite popular over the past few years, and Sony’s own PlayStation Experience has been home to a number of exclusive reveals, like The Last of Us Part II and Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. There’s a good chance that Square Enix wanted to sit on the reveal until the game was better off into development, and wanted to avoid the rush of E3 in favor of a different show to showcase Lara’s return. On top of that, with Rise of the Tomb Raider‘s popularity on PlayStation 4 (following its Xbox One exclusivity), there’s a good chance that Square could partner with Sony on its own exclusive release with Shadow. A slim chance, but it’s still there.
It’s Still Too Early In Development
Everyone knows that it can take a great deal of time to put together an extraordinary Tomb Raider experience. Crystal Dynamics knows its stuff, but it’s poured quite a bit of work into both the 2013 reboot of the series and its follow-up, Rise of the Tomb Raider. Square Enix may have decided to hold off until the game got a little deeper in development, so it wouldn’t leave its fans hanging so long while waiting for the game to release. Hopefully, we’ll see some kind of announcement this year, but Square Enix wants to make sure it’s done at just the right time. And maybe E3 was just too overloaded to do it.
Rise of the Tomb Raider Is Still Doing Well
Perhaps Square Enix wants to take its time when it comes to announcing a Tomb Raider sequel, especially since it’s not necessarily needed right away. Rise of the Tomb Raider is still doing incredibly well on the gaming market, ever since its official release on PC and PlayStation 4, following its exclusivity window on the Xbox One. So maybe Square Enix doesn’t want to overshadow that success right away by announcing the next chapter in the series. Granted, we probably won’t see any new DLC for it or anything, but it’s probably giving the game a few more months of sales success before it begins Shadow promotion. No sense going into Lara overload, right?
It’s Waiting Closer To The Release Of The Alicia Vikander Film
Perhaps the reason that makes the most sense when it comes to Shadow of the Tomb Raider‘s reveal is that Square Enix simply wants to wait to promote it at the same time as the forthcoming movie reboot, which is set to launch in March 2018. That would make the most sense, as cross-promoting Shadow of the Tomb Raider with the film would create more popularity, even if the game and the film feature two different Laras – Camilla Luddington and Alicia Vikander, respectively. More than likely, this means we could get a reveal later this year, and a release alongside the film next year. That could be a bit of a longshot, but it’s also the closest possibility.
We’ll have more details as soon as Shadow of the Tomb Raider is officially confirmed.
