Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis isn't delayed after all

Co-developer Electric Square has confirmed its ongoing work on Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis. The announcement pours cold water on recent rumors that the game was facing a delay. The UK-based studio posted a brief update on LinkedIn to say it is "honoured to have supported" the project.

Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis was heavily rumored to be delayed out of its current release window. Looking at this public victory lap from one of its major support studios, that seems not to be the case. I think that should really teach us not to believe every leaker, right?

You probably already played their work

Electric Square is one of those huge background forces in modern game development. The company originally spun off from Studio Gobo before rebranding in 2017 to focus on platform-agnostic development. Keywords Studios bought them in 2018. They now operate out of offices in Brighton, Leamington Spa, and Singapore.

Their recent co-development credits include Diablo IV, Assassin's Creed Nexus VR, Lords of the Fallen, and Need for Speed Unbound. They also handled full development on titles like Forza Street and Warped Kart Racers.

Modern big-budget games are rarely built by a single team under one roof. Crystal Dynamics is leading the new Tomb Raider, but a project of this scale requires hundreds of external developers to handle specific systems, environment assets, or optimization passes. Electric Square stepping up to publicly acknowledge their piece of the puzzle usually happens when a game is hitting major internal milestones. It rarely happens when a project is spinning its tires.

Eight years since Shadow

It has been a long wait for Lara Croft fans. Shadow of the Tomb Raider wrapped up the Survivor trilogy back in 2018. Crystal Dynamics was eventually absorbed by the Embracer Group and partnered with Amazon Games to publish this next installment.

The new game is being built in Unreal Engine 5. This leaves behind the proprietary Foundation engine used for the previous three games. Transitioning to a new engine is difficult and often leads to production bottlenecks. That engine shift is likely what gave the recent delay rumors so much traction in the first place. People assumed the team was struggling with the new tech stack.

The Amazon factor

Amazon Games stepping in as publisher is a big shift for the franchise. Square Enix handled the previous trilogy before selling Crystal Dynamics to Embracer Group in a fire sale. Amazon has deep pockets, but they also have a mixed track record with their internal game development. Partnering with an established studio like Crystal Dynamics gives them a safe bet, provided the game actually ships.

Electric Square's announcement is light on technical specifics, but the timing is the actual news. Support studios generally coordinate their public posts with the lead developer and publisher. You do not post about your great work on a game the same week the publisher is secretly planning to announce a delay to 2027.

We will likely see more of the game soon. Until then, I am going to take this as a sign that the production pipeline is holding steady. The pieces appear to be in place for a 2026 launch.