Amazon’s Budget Cuts Affect Upcoming Tomb Raider Titles

Last year, Amazon dialed back its ambitious video game development efforts and laid off a significant number of employees. While the retail giant scrapped several projects, including a highly anticipated MMO set in the Lord of the Rings universe, it remains focused on publishing two upcoming Tomb Raider titles. However, Amazon’s pullback from the gaming scene has influenced both games.

In a recent interview, Embracer CEO Phil Rogers confirmed that Amazon’s decision to step back from gaming in 2025 has directly affected this year’s Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis and next year’s Tomb Raider: Catalyst. Embracer, which owns the Tomb Raider IP, had previously partnered with Amazon in 2022 to create a TV series and multiple games with the support of the veteran developer Crystal Dynamics. While those plans are still in motion, changes have occurred behind the scenes, though Rogers noted that not all of them have been negative.

“It’s had a massive change in terms of who we’re connecting with,” Rogers stated. “But in some ways, it’s just shortened some cycles.”

He also mentioned Amazon’s game streaming platform, Luna, as an intriguing development. “I do think about how the gaming industry is going to expand, and streaming could really offer something. The fact that Amazon Games Studios and Amazon Luna were quite separate before, but now it’s run as one group, means we’re closer to the Luna leadership, which has been helpful.”

Rogers believes there will always be dedicated hardware for gaming, but acknowledges that many players are comfortable simply turning on their TVs to stream games. He even suggested that some developers might start creating games specifically optimized for streaming. Imagine finishing the upcoming Amazon Tomb Raider show featuring Sophie Turner and then seamlessly transitioning to play the latest game with just a click.

“For a lot of people, coming home, turning on a TV, and then seeing an option between watch this or play that… isn’t that really cool? And then if you want to play, you just pick up your controller of choice.”

Regarding other IPs under Embracer, such as Deus Ex, Red Faction, and TimeSplitters, Rogers expressed the company’s willingness to license its extensive library to various studios and even Hollywood for new games, films, or remasters.

“We can’t work on everything ourselves,” he explained. “We don’t believe we have to make it all ourselves. We don’t just need to only do things that we can make.”

Rogers feels that licensing could be an exciting avenue for the next decade. “We could find other teams who say, ‘I’ve got this idea,’ ‘I’ve got a treatment.’ This happens in other entertainment forms, right? You get treatments, and you work on that basis. Whether it’s remakes, remasters, a new treatment, or an adaptation in some way.”

So, if you have a pitch for a TimeSplitters reboot, now might be the time to reach out to Rogers. Who knows, in a few years, it could be the next big thing in gaming!