Lara Croft’s long-awaited single-player return is going to take a bit longer than expected. Amazon Games boss Jeffrey Gattis has confirmed that Tomb Raider: Catalyst—the next main-line entry in the iconic franchise—has slipped out of its original 2027 release target and will now launch in 2028.
The news dropped in an offhand comment during an interview with The Game Business, where Gattis casually revealed the new timeline while discussing Amazon’s broader content and streaming portfolio.
“We’ve obviously announced the two Tomb Raider titles: [Legacy of] Atlantis comes February 12th of next year, and then we’ll follow on in 2028 with the next one.”
— Jeffrey Gattis, Amazon Head of Gaming
Why the Shift? Avoiding Lara vs. Lara Fatigue
While delays often spark worries over development hell—especially following several rounds of restructuring at Crystal Dynamics—the 2028 shift appears to be a deliberate commercial decision by publisher Amazon Games:
- Spacing Out Releases: The ground-up remake Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis (co-developed with Flying Wild Hog) was previously pushed back to February 12, 2027. Pushing Catalyst into 2028 avoids launching two massive AAA Lara Croft adventures in the exact same calendar year.
- Distinct Game Identities: Legacy of Atlantis focuses on reimagining the classic 1996 original, while Catalyst is an all-new Unreal Engine 5 entry set in Northern India following the aftermath of a mythical cataclysm.
- Amazon Luna Alignment: Gattis noted that Amazon is leveraging major flagship IPs like Tomb Raider to build a core identity around its Luna ecosystem alongside traditional console and PC releases.
What It Means for Physical Media & Next-Gen Hardware
The slide to 2028 carries another intriguing secondary consequence for preservationists and physical media fans: with Sony’s recently announced transition plans for PlayStation physical media manufacturing taking effect in early 2028, Catalyst could end up being one of the first major flagship multiplatform titles to ship digitally on current platforms while targeting the next-generation console landscape.
Tomb Raider: Catalyst is currently in development at Crystal Dynamics for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
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