Feral Interactive has quietly announced that the two spin-offs of the Tomb Raider series, Lara Croft and the Guardians of Light and Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, have had their Nintendo Switch releases pushed back into next year.The Nintendo Switch ports for the two Lara Croft games were previously announced to be coming in the remaining weeks of 2022 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the series, however, they are now targeting a 2023 release with a physical version under consideration. "We'll certainly consider it but nothing has been finalized yet," Feral Interactive said about any chance of a physical release. It would not be surprising at all that the Tomb Raider spin-offs will be postponed into next year given how quiet things have been on the development front since last October. Besides that, when asked when it will be released, Feral Interactive replied with a clear "We will never tell."
Crystal Dynamics is teaming up with Feral Interactive to launch two of its top-down action games on the Nintendo Switch. The company previously ported large-scale games like Alien: Isolation and GRID Autosport to the handheld console, as it also has experience in bringing console and PC games to mobile platforms. Tropico, Company of Heroes, XCOM 2, and Rome: Total War are among the games that have been ported by the developer team.
Lara Croft and the Guardians of Light and Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris were first released for Xbox 360 and PS3 way back in 2010. The two games set themselves apart from the mainline Tomb Raider series, which has grown in popularity with behind-the-back camera angles and action focused gameplay system. They emphasize puzzle solving from an isometric perspective, and parkour elements with twin-stick combat rather than relying on pure action. Players must create their own solutions and explore various paths through the jungles of Central America. The sequel to the first Lara Croft spin-off, the Guardians of Light, maintained the beloved aspects of its predecessor, focusing on character progression and cooperative play.
In other Tomb Raider news, Crystal Dynamics has reached an agreement with Amazon Games to publish the next game in the series. According to the press release, it will be the biggest and most expansive single-player game to date in the Tomb Raider franchise.