Crystal Dynamics is working on a new Tomb Raider game, ditches in-house engine for Unreal Engine 5

During the State of Unreal 2022 event, developer Crystal Dynamics announced that it was working on a new Tomb Raider game, four years after the release of 2018’s Shadow of the Tomb Raider. The developer stated that it’s building the new Tomb Raider title on Unreal Engine 5, as opposed to its in-house Foundation engine. 

This announcement is particularly interesting, considering that just a few weeks ago, CD Projekt Red stated that it will be using Unreal Engine 5 to build the next Witcher game, as opposed to REDEngine. 

While we don’t have a clear picture of when the next Tomb Raider is set to launch or where it’s set, Epic’s Lumen in the Land of Nanite tech demo offers some insight into what the next-gen title may look like. The tech demo leveraged ultra-detailed Quixel scans to deliver a photorealistic desert temple environment, with playable framerates on the PlayStation 5. 

With more developers seemingly switching to Unreal Engine 5, its core tech features, including the Nanite geometry culling system and Lumen lighting, could become key elements of “true” next-gen visuals in the years to come. 

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