Key Highlights:
- Crystal Dynamics will not release a downloadable demo for Tomb Raider before launch.
- The 2013 reboot will have neither a Season Pass nor an Online Pass.
- Tomb Raider still received post-launch DLC, but the additional content was sold separately and focused on multiplayer.
Crystal Dynamics will not release a downloadable demo for Tomb Raider before the game launches on 5 March 2013.
Global brand director Karl Stewart confirmed the decision while answering questions from players on Twitter. Stewart said the studio wanted to avoid revealing story content through a public demo.
Playable demonstrations of Tomb Raider had previously appeared at events including E3, but Crystal Dynamics did not release those builds through Xbox Live, PlayStation Network or PC storefronts.
Stewart also confirmed that Tomb Raider would not use a Season Pass or Online Pass. The absence of an Online Pass meant players would not require a single-use access code to enter the game’s multiplayer mode.
The lack of a Season Pass did not mean Tomb Raider would receive no downloadable content. It meant Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix would not sell a bundled entitlement covering multiple future releases.
Tomb Raider launched for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC on 5 March 2013. Crystal Dynamics subsequently released several multiplayer map packs, beginning with Caves & Cliffs on Xbox 360.
The studio later confirmed that Tomb Raider’s post-launch expansions would focus exclusively on multiplayer DLC, with no additional single-player campaign content planned.
Players could therefore purchase individual multiplayer additions after launch, but there was never a Tomb Raider Season Pass containing the complete DLC programme.
