Tomb Raider Developer Experiences Fourth Round of Layoffs in a Year

Crystal Dynamics, the studio behind Lara Croft, is undergoing another round of layoffs, marking its fourth in just a year. Recently, they showcased *Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis* and *Tomb Raider: Catalyst* at The Game Awards 2025, assuring fans that these upcoming titles will not be impacted despite the ongoing challenges in the AAA gaming landscape.

On March 18, the studio announced the reduction of 20 positions, affecting both development and central operations roles. This follows a previous layoff of 30 employees last November, an unspecified number in August, and 17 in March.

“As our current projects progress into new development phases, we regularly assess our team structures to ensure they align with our long-term studio objectives,” the company stated on LinkedIn. “While we strive to transition our team members into new roles whenever possible, we have unfortunately reached a point where these departures are necessary.”

Crystal Dynamics, known for the 2020 live-service misstep with *Marvel’s Avengers*, had a workforce of 273 in 2022. The studio has faced several rounds of cuts due to mismanagement at its parent company and the cancellation of *Perfect Dark*, a project they were co-developing with The Initiative.

Currently, the team is focused on delivering *Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis*, a remake of the classic 1996 game using Unreal Engine 5, and *Tomb Raider: Catalyst*, which aims to evolve the action-adventure puzzle formula into a more open-world experience. The remake is set to launch later this year, while *Catalyst* has been in development for several years and is projected for release sometime after 2027.

“We understand that news like this can raise concerns within our community. Crystal Dynamics remains fully dedicated to the future development of our announced *Tomb Raider* titles,” the studio emphasized. “For now, our priority is to support our colleagues who are moving on.”

Both titles are being published by Amazon Game Studios, which has recently shifted away from AAA gaming to focus on lower-cost party games. While Amazon has committed to publishing these games, the future of their gaming portfolio remains uncertain. Additionally, the tech giant is working on a *Tomb Raider* TV series for Amazon Prime.