Square Enix Epic has just released a large live stream for Unreal Engine 5, the future of countless video games to follow, including use by a huge group of industry insiders. Dozens and dozens of publishers and developers have reportedly been making Unreal Engine 5 games in the future. However, a few things stood out to me and I am determined to include them in my narrative that I believe Microsoft is buying Crystal Dynamics from Square Enix for Xbox. A big revelation of the show was that Crystal Dynamics is going to make a new Tomb Raider game using Unreal Engine 5. This is a change from the internal machine they used in previous Tomb Raider games and the Avengers game. You will recall that previously, Microsoft was partly responsible for financing the development of a sequel to Crystal Dynamics Tomb Raider, which turned out to be an exclusive timeline. Square Enix, meanwhile, has been famously “disappointed” by the millions of sales it has had since the restart of Tomb Raider and has publicly criticized the Avengers’ recent performance. Avengers CD Epic has taken the time to point out that the Xbox specifically has a huge chunk of its studios using Unreal Engine 5 to build its games. That includes The Initiative, led by the former head of Crystal Dynamics, and recently Microsoft brought in Crystal Dynamics to help with the somewhat problematic development of this studio of the new Perfect Dark game. Summarizing:
You have Crystal Dynamics, which is often criticized by Square Enix, but often embraced by Microsoft. Epic underscores its strong relationship with Microsoft and Crystal Dynamics announces a new Tomb Raider using Unreal Engine 5 as a feature of the series. You have previously funded Microsoft Tomb Raider games for exclusive duration.
All of this tells me that either my theory is correct, Microsoft is preparing to buy Crystal Dynamics itself at some point, or at least, I would not be shocked to see it involved again in the development of this new tomb. Raider game in Unreal 5, either through the same layout they had before, or through a modified version of it. Crystal Dynamics has not felt like they fit Square Enix in a long time, and Microsoft is already treating it as an in-house studio in many ways. I think it’s only a matter of time before it becomes official, but we’ll see if today’s announcements lead to something other than Epic’s own showcase, which obviously would not be the place to announce such a thing. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to my free weekly content collection newsletter, God Rolls. Take my science fiction novels Herokiller and The Earthborn Trilogy.
