A recently uncovered job listing at Eidos' Crystal Dynamics studio (which was assigned the Tomb Raider IP a few years back after Eidos stripped it from Core) has revealed that the company is currently hiring a lead designer "to lead on future AAA title development for Xbox 360 and PS3."
Interestingly, the listing adds, "This position requires the ability to create a distinct multiplayer experience." As Joystiq points out, leaked images of a Tomb Raider "reboot" have already surfaced and Ian Livingstone has commented not too long ago that the next Tomb Raider will "reinvigorate the franchise," so it's not much of a stretch to assume that this hiring notice is referring to another one of Lara Croft's adventures.
Third-person shooting has worked quite well in multiplayer for games like Gears of War and Uncharted 2, so with the right design approach we see no reason why Tomb Raider couldn't benefit from some multiplayer as well. Multiplayer also tends to give games "legs" and can fuel DLC sales with map packs and the like, so it would be a smart move by Eidos.
3 Comments
December 8, 2009
Is anyone actually playing 3rd person multiplayer (Uncharted 2)? I'm not asking sarcastically...has Sony or anyone else published numbers?
December 8, 2009
NPD reports that Uncharted 2 sold over 500,000 copies and was the top-selling game in the United States in October 2009. Sony, I believe, has also mentioned that the game has eclipsed one million sales worldwide.
December 8, 2009
Oh, as far as multiplayer, I'm not sure though. I believe they've indicated there's healthy demand and they've already released a new map.