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[LectureMaster]

Today we've made the difficult but necessary decision to reorganize Crystal Dynamics' studios and teams. As a result, we've parted ways with just under 30 team members across various departments and… | Crystal Dynamics | 16 comments

Today we've made the difficult but necessary decision to reorganize Crystal Dynamics' studios and teams. As a result, we've parted ways with just under 30 team members across various departments and projects as we restructure the company and business for our next generation. Crystal deeply...

www.linkedin.com

Crystal Dynamics lays off nearly 30 more people in its third round of cuts this year

The Embracer-owned studio says it's restructuring "for our next generation," whatever that means.

www.pcgamer.com

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For the third time this year, Tomb Raider studio Crystal Dynamics has laid off employees: The company announced today that it's making a "difficult but necessary" reorganization of its studios and team, and that as a result nearly 30 people will be put out of work.

The cuts will be made "across various departments and projects," Crystal Dynamics said on LinkedIn, "as we restructure the company and business for our next generation."

"To our players—as the realities of the industry continue to evolve, we've made these painful choices as a way to optimize the continued development of our flagship Tomb Raider game, as well as shaping the rest of the studio to make new games for the future. We appreciate the continued support of our players, our colleagues, and our partners during this transition and look forward to sharing the team's amazing new work with the world in the future."

This is, as noted, the third time Crystal Dynamics has laid off employees in 2025. The first round of cuts occurred in March, when the studio ditched 17 people—also a "difficult decision"—in order to "better align our current business needs and the studio's future success." Then in August, it terminated an undisclosed number of employees following Microsoft's cancellation of the Perfect Dark reboot, which it was co-developing alongside The Initiative.

And now this, nearly 30 more out the door—not a huge number compared to say, the 9,000 that Microsoft axed in July, but a not-insignificant portion of a studio that has to be working pretty close to the bone by now. And, I have to note, with nothing to show for it at this point: Crystal Dynamics announced the new Unreal Engine 5-powered Tomb Raider project in 2022, but all we've seen of it since was a single piece of utterly unremarkable concept art released in early 2024.

 

[Durin]

At this point just give the IP to someone else, especially because they don't even seem to respect or even like the older games.

They went from better gameplay/worse story Uncharted with a survival aesthetic, to Lara apologizing for raiding tombs.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Needs more OG Lara Croft and impeccable level design and let the dungeons/tombs tell their own story instead of Insecurity Complex 101. The TR 1-6 remasters have been the best thing to come out of the franchise in recent times and Crystal Dynamics had no hand in that.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

FFS, 3 layoffs in a year, fucking donkeys just let someone with half a brain take it forward.

 

[LectureMaster]

At this point just give the IP to someone else, especially because they don't even seem to respect or even like the older games.

They went from better gameplay/worse story Uncharted with a survival aesthetic, to Lara apologizing for raiding tombs.

 

[Generic]

Needs more OG Lara Croft and impeccable level design and let the dungeons/tombs tell their own story instead of Insecurity Complex 101. The TR 1-6 remasters have been the best thing to come out of the franchise in recent times and Crystal Dynamics had no hand in that.

The remasters were good because they added a modern controls option.

 

[FF:Enhanced_Reality]

At this point just give the IP to someone else, especially because they don't even seem to respect or even like the older games.

They went from better gameplay/worse story Uncharted with a survival aesthetic, to Lara apologizing for raiding tombs.

I never thought they got it anyway.

But the way this is going I think they're fucked if this isn't a huge success.

 

[MagiusNecros]

The remasters were good because they added a modern controls option.

I did like the modern controls. It offered 2 different playstyles and I also liked the ability to mix and match both based on the situation! Great change!

 

[Elios83]

Last original Tomb Raider was in 2018...no real news or footage of the next game after 7 years.
The Perfect Dark debacle as their only recent update on their resume.
They don't even seem comfortable with the IP and the kind of character Lara Croft is...
I don't want to be negative and I hope for the best but probably for once Square Enix knew what they were doing when they sold this studio.

 

[Zacfoldor]

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

 

[zaga]

Tomb Raider needs to be fun again. All the recent games are so bleak and depressing. Just unplayable.

 

[Zacfoldor]

Tomb Raider needs to be fun again. All the recent games are so bleak and depressing. Just unplayable.

The first game in the new trilogy was pretty good. 2nd game....kinda went downhill a bit but also improved some things. I wouldn't say it was terrible. 3rd game, oof.

 

[Loomy]

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Crystal Dynamics is another shit studio that needs to clean house altogether or just shut down.

 

[Montauk]

The last Tomb Raider trilogy was atrocious. Not interested in a new TR game if they're continuing down that path.

 

[semiconscious]

i like how getting rid of people optimizes development. i mean, are these employees who basically did nothing but just sorta get in the way?...

 

[Saber]

How can I ever feel pity when everything they did so far is doing Tomb Raider dirty?
Maybe it's better this way. Give the IP to someone who cares about the franchise.

 

[MagiusNecros]

i like how getting rid of people optimizes development. i mean, are these employees who basically did nothing but just sorta get in the way?...

Maybe it's similar to other companies waking up and getting rid of DEI influence that seeks to undermine, demolish and alter existing works.

 

[CliffBronger]

Hopefully it's the DEI team

 

[Durin]

I never thought they got it anyway.

But the way this is going I think they're fucked if this isn't a huge success.

They kinda never did, the survival era Tomb Raider reboot wasn't real Tomb Raider to me, because it gutted out puzzles and simplified platforming...but the combat at least was fun, and they made stealth matter a bit.

The main thing is they never really added much unique, and their storytelling just got more modern audience with each entry (Shadow was just filled with cringe).

 

[SomeNorseGuy]

It's so funny to see these progressive devs twisting themselves into a knot trying to find an "acceptable" way to portray this white, sexy, aristocratic, fit and rich woman.

They can turn her butch, lesbian, emotionally unstable, ashamed of her heritage and go through all the humiliation rituals they can think of. You just know they would still think she's problematic.

So if that's where all the energy goes ...and not towards making a fun game with a cool story, it's no wonder they're struggling.

 

[Odinnii]

They kinda never did, the survival era Tomb Raider reboot wasn't real Tomb Raider to me, because it gutted out puzzles and simplified platforming...but the combat at least was fun, and they made stealth matter a bit.

The main thing is they never really added much unique, and their storytelling just got more modern audience with each entry (Shadow was just filled with cringe).

Shadow was released in 2018, I can't even imagine how cringe a new game would have been if it was released in the last couple of years.

 

[semiconscious]

Maybe it's similar to other companies waking up and getting rid of DEI influence that seeks to undermine, demolish and alter existing works.

very likely. in which case, describing getting rid of these people in order to optimize development is pretty damning...

otoh, it could just be replacing them with ai, i guess, which'd optimize the development budget if nothing else...

 

[Durin]

Shadow was released in 2018, I can't even imagine how cringe a new game would have been if it was released in the last couple of years.

There was that leak of the next potential game that alluded to her having some romantic relationship with a girl, and leading a team of Tomb Raiders.

And that picture of the cancelled tabletop game where she leads some Truth Seekers group that protect artifacts from abusive villains...the most Disney-fied bullshit for a character who is a thrillseeker doing things for personal gain.

 

[kpopSuperstar]

I loved the first two rebooted games, Rise of the Tomb Raider was great.

Those games sold really well, and since Naughty Dog stopped Uncharted, there is a void for these type of games.

They fucked up doing another projects rather than sticking with it.

They should make a fourth entry, then do a pure fucking gooner Tomb Raider, like Stellar Blade, Lara is a sex symbol, she is supposed to be a sex symbol, have the balls to do it, people would goon all over it.

Never gonna happen, but would be cool.

 

[ProtoByte]

They were either employing 300 people (way too many) or are shrinking down to "AA" studio size. That's not going to do the trick for TR.
They such made awful awful decisions with Avengers that I don't know if I can ever trust them. Some people in this industry are really lucky they've held jobs like this for so long.

 

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

Bye

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Tomb Raider was my favorite franchise and is / was always the most mismanaged IP in gaming for me. My god. They had such an interesting character right from the gate that could have evolved into something much more interesting as games started to be more and more storyline-driven...yet we are going to get a 3rd reboot with probably a character that's even worse than ever before.

We went from an independent woman that was dishoned by her family, to a woman with mom issues (1st reboot) to a girl with daddy issues (2nd reboot).

The fact we ended the last reboots without her becoming Lara Croft as we knew her with the dual pistols and everything is painful to remember even today. (they even teased the dual guns on the first game of that trilogy).

Whatever they do next they will need to work hard as hell to bring me back. At this point i got the reboots i wanted and i'm good.

 

[YeulEmeralda]

Tomb raider plot never made any sense. There are no secret hidden tombs with treasures in them anymore.

 

[Generic]

There was that leak of the next potential game that alluded to her having some romantic relationship with a girl, and leading a team of Tomb Raiders.

And that picture of the cancelled tabletop game where she leads some Truth Seekers group that protect artifacts from abusive villains...the most Disney-fied bullshit for a character who is a thrillseeker doing things for personal gain.

I hope Lara gets a cute girlfriend.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

I hope Lara gets a cute girlfriend.

Only if mud fights.

 

[Plague Doctor]

She better be taking stolen artifacts away from the colonizers. I better see each level being some famous western country museum where she is shooting the guards.

Anything less will be murder, or something like that. Idk.

 

[SnapShot]

CD is gonna turn into a small indie studio with all these layoffs

 

[JimmyRustler]

Shadow was released in 2018, I can't even imagine how cringe a new game would have been if it was released in the last couple of years.

I'm sure the next Tomb Raider will finally be the game where modern audiences will follow up and start buying a game tailored to them in drove.

 

[Peroroncino]

Shadow was released in 2018, I can't even imagine how cringe a new game would have been if it was released in the last couple of years.

tomb raider: shades of rainbow

 

[FF:Enhanced_Reality]

They kinda never did, the survival era Tomb Raider reboot wasn't real Tomb Raider to me, because it gutted out puzzles and simplified platforming...but the combat at least was fun, and they made stealth matter a bit.

The main thing is they never really added much unique, and their storytelling just got more modern audience with each entry (Shadow was just filled with cringe).

You know what really annoyed me with the 2013 reboot is how she gets stabbed through the side in the beginning and she's fine until the end of the game when suddenly it's a problem.

 

[Pejo]

Future me can't wait to read the dev diary about what went wrong with this game in about 5-7 years. I honestly can't see a future where it's actually a good successful game.

 

[daninthemix]

I did like the modern controls. It offered 2 different playstyles and I also liked the ability to mix and match both based on the situation! Great change!

By mix and match both do you mean having to go into the settings and change the entire control scheme every time you wanted to adjust? It is utterly ridiculous that they didn't leave tank controls on the D pad while allowing modern on the stick. Unbelievably obtuse of them.

 

[MagiusNecros]

By mix and match both do you mean having to go into the settings and change the entire control scheme every time you wanted to adjust? It is utterly ridiculous that they didn't leave tank controls on the D pad while allowing modern on the stick. Unbelievably obtuse of them.

Minor caveat. But I rarely changed from Modern controls unless I needed to do very specific jumps.

 

[daninthemix]

Minor caveat. But I rarely changed from Modern controls unless I needed to do very specific jumps.

I mean, the fact they don't even allow you to back step in modern controls without having to either pull your pistols or faff around with the R1 button is ridiculous. That one omission makes me think the person in charge of this was almost entirely gormless.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

So at least 30 people are needed to make a character's breasts bigger is what I take from this.

 

[Durin]

You know what really annoyed me with the 2013 reboot is how she gets stabbed through the side in the beginning and she's fine until the end of the game when suddenly it's a problem.

Maybe they should've called the reboot Tomb Raider: Phantom Pain instead.

 

[nkarafo]

Just fire the activists. Trim the fat. Literally.

But make sure you let go of whoever came up with this pile of excrement.

Fuck this person in particular.

 

[Madflavor]

I think Lara Croft is a character that was definitely a product of her time, and probably can't work in modern times. I mean she *can* but the Hollywood and Game Industry culture finds her to be problematic and want to redefine her. The problem is when you redefine her, she is no longer that character. Survivor Lara was a completely different person from Classic Lara, not to mention only 1/4th of the Athletic that Classic/Legend Lara was.

I don't know what's taking them so long. She is gaming's most iconic female character, and she hasn't had a new game for almost 8 years. Whatever is going on at Embracer/Crystal Dynamics, it can't be good. But my gut is telling me creative differences, and troubled development. It's one thing to not have the game by now, but not even a teaser trailer? Something's up.

 

[yazenov]

That's what you get for making games for modern audiences that don't exist.