Tomb Raider fans in shambles after Lara Croft turns up at Opening Night Live as part of a Naraka: Bladepoint crossover, not the long-overdue new game they got excited for

Naraka: Bladepoint
(Image credit: NetEase Games)

Yesterday's Lara Croft teaser had Tomb Raider fans anticipating a new game reveal - so they were all very disappointed to learn that it was a trailer for a Naraka: Bladepoint crossover instead.

At Gamescom Opening Night Live yesterday, the trailer just below debuted, opening with Lara Croft exploring a mysterious new area. It turns out the new trailer wasn't actually for a new Tomb Raider game, as many had anticipated from the opening few seconds, but was instead for a forthcoming crossover with battle royale game Nakara: Bladepoint.

The responses to the tweet above from Tomb Raider fans aren't kind. "Nobody wanted this. We wanted a TR game," reads one response, while another adds "Lara Croft is everywhere but not her own game." You can take a look at the tweets below for similarly disappointed reactions from Tomb Raider fans to the new trailer elsewhere on Twitter.

What's probably making this more difficult for Tomb Raider fans to stomach is the fact that we know a new Tomb Raider game is in development, and has been for years. In late 2022, Amazon announced it would publish the next Tomb Raider game from developer Crystal Dynamics, but even before that in April, Crystal Dynamics announced a new Tomb Raider game would be made using Unreal Engine 5.

That we're now well over two years removed from that initial announcement, without a proper reveal of the new Tomb Raider game, is what's contributed to this new disappointment from series fans. At this point, it's been nearly six years since Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the last mainline entry, arrived in September 2018.

Check out our new games 2024 guide for an overview of all the titles arriving before a new Tomb Raider game.

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

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