A new leak suggests that Tomb Raider: Catalyst could feature an open world, which would mark a first for the 30-year-old action-adventure franchise. Though past Tomb Raider games have featured large open-ended areas that players can explore, none have featured a fully-fledged, seamless open world.
Following a few soft-announcements in the years prior, Tomb Raider: Catalyst was officially revealed in full at The Game Awards 2025, where it appeared alongside Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis. While Legacy of Atlantis will be a reimagining of the original 1996 Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider: Catalyst will be a completely new entry in the franchise. Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is set to release sometime this year, with Catalyst currently set for launch in 2027.
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Rumor — Tomb Raider: Catalyst Could Feature an Open World
Back in May 2024, X user V Scooper – a leaker primarily known for sharing movie and TV leaks and rumors – claimed that the next Tomb Raider game would be "fully open world and set in India." V Scooper's post also claimed that players would have free use of Lara Croft's motorbike and have access to a parachute. Tomb Raider: Catalyst's announcement trailer confirmed that the game will be set in Northern India, and now V Scooper is doubling down on their 2024 claims.
On January 28, 2026, V Scooper posted a screenshot of the final moments of Tomb Raider: Catalyst's reveal trailer to X, with a caption attached that read "This shot alone already suggests Tomb Raider Catalyst is fully open world." The leaker goes on to say that snowy mountains, jungles, and deserts can all be seen in the screenshot, and that the image implies the existence of a "single continuous map, not isolated regions" just as they'd previously claimed. V Scooper's post has received a mixed reception from fans. While some fans have expressed their intrigue over a fully open world Tomb Raider, others have been quick to express their concern over this possible direction for the series, such as X user @RinoTheBouncer who replied to V Scooper's post with "9 out of 10 times, open world games tend to be bloated... And they lack the sense of gradual pacing for story and exploration."
Of course, all leaks and rumors should always be taken with a hefty pinch of salt, but this Tomb Raider: Catalyst open world theory does seem plausible at the very least. In a GamesRadar+ interview with Scot Amos following the game's reveal in December 2025, the Crystal Dynamics Studio Head said that Catalyst is "the largest Tomb Raider that we've made to date." While this is a very broad statement that could mean a whole swathe of different things, an open world would be a surefire way to make Tomb Raider: Catalyst the largest entry that Crystal Dynamics has ever worked on.
Though Tomb Raider: Catalyst's trailer didn't show the motorbike or parachute features that V Scooper originally reported on in May 2024, it did put an emphasis on Lara Croft's grappling hook, which she used both for traversal and combat in the trailer. Crystal Dynamics hasn't confirmed the exact gameplay mechanics behind the grappling hook just yet, but it would certainly make sense for it to be used heavily during exploration. This would be particularly fitting for Tomb Raider: Catalyst, as the game is confirmed to be a sequel to Tomb Raider: Underworld, which itself put a strong focus on Lara's grappling hook during traversal and puzzle-solving. The trailer for Tomb Raider: Catalyst also briefly shows Lara wall-running, though this could purely be for the sake of the trailer and not an actual gameplay mechanic.
- Released
- 2027
- Developer(s)
- Crystal Dynamics
- Publisher(s)
- Amazon Games
- Franchise
- Tomb Raider
- Number of Players
- Single-player
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Action
