Studio Behind Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider Hit With Layoffs Once Again
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- Crystal Dynamics suffered from layoffs as the studio let go of 17 employees.
- The studio is responsible for the Perfect Dark reboot and the Tomb Raider series.
- Crystal Dynamics is currently working on an unnamed Tomb Raider game.
Two years after its most recent layoffs, Crystal Dynamics announced that the studio is letting go of 17 employees. The announcement was posted on the studio’s official Twitter account.
“We recognize how painful this outcome is for those impacted and we are supporting them with transition packages and opportunity outreach,” the post reads. It also mentioned that the decision was not made lightly, but it was necessary for the studio’s future success.
Crystal Dynamics was behind the modernization of the Tomb Raider series. In 1998, Eidos Interactive acquired the studio and gave them the task to make the next set of Tomb Raider games. The studio was successful, making Tomb Raider: Legend, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, and Tomb Raider: Underworld.
In 2013, the studio released Tomb Raider, a reboot of the series. The final game they made in the franchise was 2018’s Shadow of the Tomb Raider. In 2022, it was reported that the studio was creating a new one in partnership with Amazon Games.
Also in 2022, Embracer Group bought Crystal Dynamics together with the Tomb Raider and Legacy of Kain series from Square Enix. A year later, the studio suffered layoffs after declaring that it wouldn’t be affected by the ongoing Embracer Group layoffs at the time.
The studio explained in the Twitter post that the recent layoffs would not affect the current projects they are working on.
Crystal Dynamics is currently working on two projects: The aforementioned unnamed Tomb Raider game and a Perfect Dark reboot. The studio showed a gameplay sequence of the reboot at an Xbox Games Showcase in 2024. An official release date for the game has not been announced yet.
