The articlegameplay, story, development, reception
Story
Tomb Raider: Catalyst is set in Northern India, years after the events of Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008). A mythical cataclysm has exposed ancient ruins and awakened the forces guarding them. The story follows Lara Croft as she explores the region, competing against rival treasure hunters seeking to exploit the site's power. She must determine whom to trust to secure the ancient secret and prevent a catastrophe.
Development
In 2021, game director Will Kerslake stated that Crystal Dynamics envisioned the future of Tomb Raider as taking place after the previous instalments, with the goal of unifying the timelines of both Core Design's and their own Tomb Raider games. The development of Catalyst began in 2022. Crystal Dynamics have divided into two teams: one working on Catalyst and the other co-developing Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis (2027), a remake of the original 1996 game, with Flying Wild Hog. A single leadership team oversees both projects to manage shared resources and ensure narrative consistency. Crystal Dynamics are also collaborating with creative staff from Amazon Game Studios, which the studio partnered with as publisher in 2022.
The developers seek to design the game to be accessible to players without prior knowledge of the series, while remaining appealing to long-time fans. Set in India, which the studio described as a "fan-favorite location", Crystal Dynamics head Scot Amos stated that Catalyst is "the largest Tomb Raider that we've made to date". Although a sequel to Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008), the narrative incorporates the second reboot trilogy (2013–2018) as Lara Croft's origin story. Alix Wilton Regan was cast as Lara in both Catalyst and Legacy of Atlantis, succeeding Camilla Luddington, who portrayed the character in the second reboot trilogy.
