Crystal Dynamics, the Tomb Raider The franchise's on-again, off-again developer since 2003 has announced the end of nearly 30 more developer jobs in a re-organizational overhaul of its teams. The new job cuts mark the third time Crystal Dynamics has reduced the size of its developer workforce so far in 2025, and fans are worried about its announced upcoming Tomb Raider the game is starting to grow again.
The first one Tomb Raider the game was launched in 1996 under the development of Core Design. Development control of the action-adventure game series has changed hands many times since then, with Aspyr, Eidos Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal all receiving developer credits. But Crystal Dynamics has had the longest run, serving as developer first from 2003 to 2017 and again from 2021 to the present, with the next planned Tomb Raider The project is still in development with no clear release date.
Crystal Dynamics cuts developer jobs again
Although the franchise has enjoyed long-term success for nearly three full decades, Crystal Dynamics has now announced its third round of layoffs in less than eight months. A new post on the company's official LinkedIn page says nearly 30 more jobs have been cut across a variety of departments and projects as Crystal Dynamics reorganizes and plans for the future. In a section addressed to the player base, the announcement says that the “painful choices” made to lay off employees will ultimately “optimize” the next Tomb Raider game, which is published by Amazon Games. Crystal Dynamics has said it will offer support and resources to help the laid-off employees in their transition from the company.
The first round of layoffs at Crystal Dynamics 2025 came in late March, resulting in the loss of 17 jobs, though it remains unclear exactly which of the company's projects were affected by those layoffs. The second round of layoffs followed in August, but Crystal Dynamics has not disclosed the details of how many jobs were cut in the strategic business move, leaving an uncertain number of job losses for the year as a whole.
The dismissals in August accompanied the dismissal of Perfectly dark reboot that had first been announced in late 2020. Originally slated for release on Xbox Series X|S and PC in joint development between Crystal Dynamics and The Initiative, the game had reportedly been in development for more than a decade, and news of its cancellation was accompanied by the shutdown of The Initiative. While Amazon has recently assured fans that Tomb Raider game will not meet the same fate, fans responding to the announcement have expressed both sympathy for the former development team members and concern for the future of Tomb Raider.
- Date founded
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July 8, 1992
- Head office
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Redwood City, California, USA
- Parent company
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Square Enix, Eidos Interactive, Embracer Group
