Tomb Raider Netflix season 2 trailer hints at “reset world” for new game

Finally, the Tomb Raider Legend of Lara Croft season 2 trailer is out. The purpose of the Netflix anime starring Hayley Atwell is to unify Lara Croft’s three different timelines, and the season 2 trailer seemingly hints at unifying Classic, LAU, and Survivor Lara through a “reset world” at the hands of a villainous scheme.

In the Netflix season 2 trailer, Lara Croft is hunting down a group of masks that she needs to collect before a “techno-visionary bent on playing god” can use them to “reset the world”. We don’t know why the yet-to-be-named villain wants to reset everything, but it could play into supernatural forces that allow Crystal Dynamics to reshape the Survivor timeline so it unifies with Classic Lara.

Back in 2021, Crystal Dynamics celebrated the series’ 25th anniversary. As part of the celebration, Will Kerslake, Tomb Raider franchise director, discussed Crystal Dynamics’ plans to unify the timelines. Kerslake recognised that Crystal Dynamics’ “origin trilogy told the story of Lara’s early days when she was forged into a survivor,” meanwhile Core Design’s “classic games featured a seasoned and confident adventurer, travelling the world, unlocking its secrets, often standing alone against cataclysmic forces”.

Crystal Dynamics envisions the “future of Tomb Raider unfolding after these established adventures,” and their plan is to “unify these timelines”. The Netflix anime was also announced in 2021, with Tasha Huo saying it “will provide fans around the world with some of the first steps toward unifying the Tomb Raider timelines… [to] transition beyond the Survivor trilogy and start to follow Lara’s journey leading up to the first steps of that first Tomb Raider game”.

Tomb Raider fans are praying for a new game reveal at the Game Awards

Many Tomb Raider fans are praying that Crystal Dynamics will finally reveal Lara Croft’s next AAA adventure at The Game Awards. While nothing is official, the community is optimistic as the Legend of Lara Croft season 2 is premiering on Netflix the same day as The Game Awards, December 11.

Aside from unifying the timelines, we know the next game is single-player, is developed using Unreal Engine 5, and is published by Amazon Games.  Amazon is “continuing” to help despite mass layoffs and halting games development. Crystal Dynamics has recently suffered layoffs, too, and they assure fans the decision was “difficult but necessary” as a way to “optimize the continued development of our flagship Tomb Raider game”.

Beyond official news, there are rumors the next game is an open-world adventure set in India with Lara pitted against a “society of raiders.” This same rumor claims Lara will be able to freely traverse the open world on a motorcycle, but it’s just a rumor rather than anything concrete from a super reliable leaker.

Fans also have a live-action Amazon Prime series starring Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner to anticipate. Sophie Turner isn’t the most popular choice to play Lara Croft, however, she has promised fans “Lara is in very safe hands”.

As we keep our fingers crossed for Crystal Dynamics’ next game hopefully appearing at The Game Awards, right now, you can return to the past with Tomb Raider Anniversary available via PS Plus Premium. You can also buy it from the PSN store for $20 (£16).