Crystal Dynamics Takes Full Control of Tomb Raider, Legacy of Kain Franchises

Crystal Dynamics has announced that it has taken full control of the various IPs it has created, including Tomb Raider and Legacy of Kain. Crystal Dynamics was one of Square Enix's key western studios. The developer was responsible for some of the biggest western games to come out of Square Enix, particularly the incredibly well-received Tomb Raider reboots. Crystal Dynamics was also tasked with bringing Marvel's greatest heroes to the gaming world via Marvel's Avengers. Although the game received mixed reviews, it showed how much Square Enix trusted Crystal Dynamics. Of course, that relationship recently came to an end following a recent deal.

Square Enix recently sold Crystal Dynamics and other studios to Embracer Group, meaning Square Enix no longer owns these studios or their respective properties. Now that the deal is complete, Crystal Dynamics has announced that it has taken full control over franchises like Tomb Raider and Legacy of Kain. It's unclear if this will really change much, but maybe Crystal Dynamics will have the freedom to revisit franchise that it wasn't able to under Square Enix.

"We are excited to inform you that Crystal Dynamics has taken control of several game franchises—including Tomb Raider and Legacy of Kain—from the games' previous owner, Square Enix Limited," said Crystal Dynamics in a blog post. "As a result of this change, Crystal Dynamics (or its affiliate) is now the owner of these games and the controller of the gameplay and personal data related to them."  

It has already been confirmed that Crystal Dynamics is working on a new Tomb Raider game, something that most people expected given the success of the last three. It will likely be a while before we see anything from it, but it's nice to know it's coming nonetheless. Some leaks have indicated the direction Crystal Dynamics is taking the series, but the game is likely years away from releasing. 

What do you hope to see from Crystal Dynamics now that they're not connected to Square Enix? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.

[H/T GamesRadar]