Key Highlights:
- UK retailer GAME appeared to reveal Tomb Raider’s multiplayer component on 27 December 2012 before its official announcement.
- The retailer referenced playing as Lara Croft’s shipmates or Yamatai’s Scavengers and used the phrase “survive as a team”.
- Crystal Dynamics confirmed multiplayer shortly afterwards, with Eidos-Montréal developing the mode separately from the single-player campaign.
UK retailer GAME appeared to reveal Tomb Raider multiplayer ahead of its official announcement on 27 December 2012, adding weight to speculation surrounding a secret feature planned for Crystal Dynamics’ upcoming reboot.
The retailer’s product listing referenced playing as Lara Croft’s shipmates or Yamatai’s Scavengers across different multiplayer modes. Promotional material also included the phrase “survive as a team”, strongly indicating that competitive multiplayer would accompany the single-player campaign.
The leak followed a tease from Crystal Dynamics earlier in December promising a “super secret” announcement that would change how players experienced Tomb Raider. GLN reported the announcement at the time and identified multiplayer as one of the possibilities.
GAME’s listing therefore appeared to provide the answer before Crystal Dynamics was ready to reveal it officially.
Confirmation followed shortly afterwards. Crystal Dynamics global brand director Karl Stewart confirmed that Tomb Raider would include multiplayer, while Eidos-Montréal revealed that it had been developing the multiplayer component separately from Crystal Dynamics’ work on the single-player campaign.
Eidos-Montréal built the competitive experience around Tomb Raider’s survival theme, reusing elements from the campaign while allowing players to compete as Survivors and Scavengers.
Further details emerged in January 2013. The multiplayer component included Team Deathmatch alongside Rescue and Cry for Help, with maps incorporating traps, climbing surfaces, destructible environments and weapons carried across from the single-player experience.
Tomb Raider subsequently launched for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 5 March 2013, with competitive multiplayer included alongside Lara Croft’s single-player origin story. Crystal Dynamics continued supporting the multiplayer component after launch, including the Shipwrecked Map Pack, which added Himiko’s Cradle and Lost Fleet in May 2013.
