Amazon Games has delayed the upcoming mainline installment Tomb Raider: Catalyst to 2028, according to gaming boss Jeffrey Gattis. The fresh delay follows an earlier schedule shift for the companion project Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, leaving developer Crystal Dynamics to space out its two high-profile Lara Croft adventures.
Tomb Raider: Catalyst Pushed Back to 2028
Lara Croft’s next major adventure will take longer to reach players than initially planned. Amazon Games general manager of gaming Jeffrey Gattis confirmed during an appearance on The Game Business that Tomb Raider: Catalyst is now scheduled to launch in 2028. The title was originally unveiled at The Game Awards with a tentative 2027 release window. Tomb Raider: Catalyst was revealed back at last year’s Game Awards with a teaser that ended with a 2027 release date. The long-awaited 12th entry in the action-adventure series will no longer be making that date, an Amazon gaming executive recently confirmed.
Running on Unreal Engine 5, Catalyst is positioned as a bold new chapter for the franchise. Tomb Raider: Catalyst is the next-gen, Unreal Engine 5-built Tomb Raider that developer Crystal Dynamics announced years ago now. In December, it was set for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S in 2027, published by Amazon Game Studios. The narrative drops Lara Croft into Northern India in the wake of a mythical cataclysm. Tomb Raider: Catalyst marks a bold direction for the series as Lara Croft embarks on a new adventure across Northern India. Tomb Raider: Catalyst is set in the wake of a mythical cataclysm that has unleashed ancient secrets and awakened the mysterious forces that guard them. When the most notorious treasure hunters from around the world descend on the region, Lara races to uncover the truth buried beneath the fractured landscape and stop those who would use its power for their own gain.
Balancing Two Lara Croft Releases
The timeline shift means Crystal Dynamics and publisher Amazon are avoiding the prospect of a crowded internal calendar. The studio is simultaneously developing Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, a ground-up reimagining of the original adventure. Legacy of Atlantis was supposed to launch in 2026 and Catalyst would follow in 2027, but when Legacy of Atlantis got delayed to early 2027, a subsequent delay for Catalyst seemed likely. Now, it’s official, as Gattis confirmed the game will launch in 2028.
“We have obviously announced the two Tomb Raider titles. Tomb Raider Legacy of Atlantis comes 12 February, next year, and then we’ll follow on in 2028 with the next one. We’re excited about those. There are some other, you know, AAA things that are in various stages of discussion right now.”
Jeffrey Gattis, General Manager of Gaming at Amazon
Spacing the titles out gives each project room to breathe, though the gap leaves fans waiting over a year between the Legacy of Atlantis release and the subsequent launch of Catalyst. The two titles were announced at the same time, originally slated for 2026 and 2027. Now, both games will release one year after the intended dates.
Platform Realities and Physical Disc Questions
The 2028 launch window carries unexpected implications for console hardware and physical media. The fresh delay means the first new Tomb Raider game in years will also be the first ever to arrive on PlayStation without a disc version. Tomb Raider: Catalyst was originally scheduled to launch sometime in 2027. It is in development for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, a reimagining of the original Tomb Raider, is set to launch on February 12, 2027.
Amazon will be the publisher of the next Tomb Raider game that’s currently being developed by Crystal Dynamics.
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