Tomb Raider: Catalyst Pushed to 2028, No Physical Release for PlayStation

Tomb Raider: Catalyst was first teased at last year’s Game Awards, promising a 2027 release. However, a recent statement from an Amazon gaming executive has confirmed that this highly anticipated 12th installment in the action-adventure franchise will miss that date. This delay means that the upcoming Tomb Raider title will also be the first in the series to launch on PlayStation without a physical disc version.

Jeffrey Gattis, Amazon’s general manager of gaming, shared updates during a recent episode of The Game Business Show. He mentioned, “We’ve announced the two Tomb Raider titles. Atlantis comes February 12th of next year, and then we’ll follow on in 2028 with the next one. We’re excited about those. There are some other AAA projects in various stages of discussion right now.”

Gattis was discussing Amazon Luna, the company’s game streaming service, and how it plans to incorporate a range of projects, from casual mobile games to major titles like Tomb Raider. He joined Amazon last year, just before the company shifted away from premium gaming, which included the reported cancellation of a Lord of the Rings MMO.

Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, a remake of the original game using Unreal Engine 5, was initially slated for release this year but has now been pushed to early 2027. The reasons for this delay remain unclear; it could be due to a crowded release schedule in late 2026, especially with major titles like Grand Theft Auto VI looming, or it might simply need more development time.

While it seems logical to avoid releasing two Tomb Raider games in the same year, there have been ongoing reports of development hurdles for Tomb Raider: Catalyst, particularly as Crystal Dynamics faces new rounds of layoffs. The 2028 release also marks Catalyst as the first confirmed PlayStation title that will not have a disc version for the PS5.

Earlier this month, Sony announced, “Physical game disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting January 2028. Following this date, new games will be available on the PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only. This transition has no impact on games that already released, or will be releasing, prior to January 2028 in disc format.”

This announcement leaves little room for games that were expected to launch before the deadline but have now been delayed, although there’s always a chance Sony could reconsider. Analysts believe it’s unlikely, predicting that the PS6 will be an all-digital console, yet there’s nothing preventing Sony from continuing to produce PS5 discs.

If this console generation is any indication, we can expect games to continue arriving on the current system for several more years.