Tomb Raider Developers Plan to Unify Classic, Legend, and Survivor Timelines in Next Game and Animated Series

Crystal Dynamics has revealed some ambitious plans for 2021, the 25th anniversary of the Tomb Raider series, the biggest bombshell being that the next game will unify the separate timelines of the Classic, Legend, and Survivor eras. Fans will have plenty of time to speculate about how they'll manage this feat, as the next game will not be announced any time soon. Meanwhile, a new mobile game and animated series are in the works, and the TR25 celebration kicks off this month with a look back at the original 1996 Tomb Raider. Check out this video for additional details.

A quick recap of what we know as of February 1:

Netflix and Legendary Television will be teaming up to produce a Tomb Raider animated series set after the Survivor trilogy. Details are still sparse, but Tasha Huo has been brought on as writer and showrunner. Her previous credits include Child of Light and The Witcher: Blood Origin.

Tomb Raider Reloaded, announced in November 2020, is a free-to-play action/arcade game developed by Emerald City Games and published by Square Enix London Mobile. A release date has not yet been announced. If you haven't already seen the teaser trailer, you'll find it on the Square Enix YouTube channel. A quick YouTube search will also turn up various gameplay previews.

Thanks to the pandemic, there hasn't been much forward movement on the upcoming Tomb Raider movie sequel, but Alicia Vikander has signed on again as Lara Croft. Director Ben Wheatley was originally attached to the project, but news surfaced last week that Misha Green (Underground, Lovecraft Country) will take the helm.

New Zealand-based special effects and prop company Weta Workshop has announced plans for a Tomb Raider 25th Anniversary statue. Details have not been announced, but this concept art released back in October shows a classic-inspired Lara battling prehistoric raptors.

For all the latest Tomb Raider news and nostalgic TR25 content, follow the official Tomb Raider social media accounts and check out Square Enix's Tomb Raider 25-Year Celebration site, which will be featuring one game each month, starting with the original Tomb Raider in February.

Edit: Added Weta statue info and link to the new Square Enix site 2/2/21.