Crystal Dynamics, the Tomb Raider franchise’s on-again, off-again developer since 2003, has announced the termination of nearly 30 more developer jobs in a reorganizational 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 fan concerns over its announced upcoming Tomb Raider game are starting to grow again.
The first Tomb Raider game was launched in 1996 under the development of Core Design. Developmental control of the action-adventure game franchise 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 until the present, with its next planned Tomb Raider project still under development with no clear release date.
Crystal Dynamics Cuts Developer Jobs Again
Though the franchise has achieved longstanding success over 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 states that 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 addressing the player base, the announcement states that the “painful choices” made in terminating employees will ultimately “optimize” the next Tomb Raider game, which is being published by Amazon Games. Crystal Dynamics has stated that it will be offering support and resources to aid the laid-off employees in their transition out of the company.
The first round of layoffs at Crystal Dynamics in 2025 came near the end of March, resulting in the loss of 17 jobs, though it’s still unclear exactly which of the company’s projects were affected by these job terminations. The second round of layoffs followed in August, but Crystal Dynamics has not disclosed specifics on how many jobs were cut in that strategic business move, leaving an uncertain number of job losses for the year as a whole.
The August layoffs accompanied the cancellation of the Perfect Dark reboot that had first been announced in late 2020. Originally planned for release on the Xbox Series X|S and PC in a 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 shuttering of The Initiative. While Amazon has recently reassured fans that the Tomb Raider game won’t 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
- Headquarters
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Redwood City, California, United States
- Parent Company
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Square Enix, Eidos Interactive, Embracer Group
