When Microsoft laid off an astonishing 9,000 people in July, the long-awaited Perfect Dark reboot was among the casualties. The main studio working on it—The Initiative—was shuttered, but co-developers Crystal Dynamics tried to salvage the project by cutting a publishing deal with Take-Two. The deal never eventuated because Take-Two and Microsoft couldn't agree on who would retain ownership of the Perfect Dark franchise.

Nevertheless, it looks like Take-Two did get something out of those discussions: former The Initiative boss Darrell Gallagher and Perfect Dark director Brian Horton will found a new 2K Games studio. Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier announced as much today, before Gallagher confirmed on LinkedIn.

"I'm excited to share that I will be joining 2K as SVP, Studio Head, where I'll be building a new studio and leading an ambitious opportunity unlike anything I've taken on before," he wrote. "I've spent my career believing in what's possible when great people come together with a bold vision. I can't wait to get started with the exceptional team at 2K!"

Gallagher founded The Initiative in 2018, and the studio's sole known project was the aborted Perfect Dark reboot. Before joining the Xbox Game Studios brood, he worked with Activision, Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics.

Brian Horton also confirmed the new 2K Games studio, albeit in fewer words, with the title of Vice-President Head of Creative. Horton has worked with a huge range of studios including Crystal Dynamics (dating before its collaboration with The Initiative) Insomniac Games, Infinity Ward and more.

While the new 2K Games project will almost certainly not be a Perfect Dark game, it'll be interesting to see if it ends up resembling one. If it does, that couldn't be a bad thing: Ted Litchfield absolutely loved what he saw of the reboot in 2024, making Microsoft's unceremonious cancellation all the more painful.

In light of July's catastrophic layoffs, Xbox boss Phil Spencer somehow mustered the courage to assert that Microsoft's gaming business has "never looked stronger".

It's been more than seven years since Shadow of the Tomb Raider put a bow on Lara Croft's big reboot trilogy, and since then, series fans have been desperate for even a morsel of information on what's coming next. Now, finally, it seems relief is in sight, as a big Tomb Raider reveal has been teased for The Game Awards later this week.

"Did you miss her?" the official Tomb Raider account asks on Twitter. "She missed you." The message encourages you to tune into the annual TGA showcase on December 11 "for a look at the future of one of gaming's most iconic franchises." The news was initially revealed in Fortnite, as part of a TGA-branded island built for players to vote on their favorite fanmade creations in the battle royale hub.

The teaser includes an image showing a silhouette of Lara Croft posing proudly with the old-school dual pistols that helped define her appearance in the original 1996 game. If you squint just hard enough, you can just about make out pouches and holster straps around her legs that hint at the old costume, too.

It's possible that this reveal is tied to some non-gaming multimedia project, like maybe the upcoming Prime Video series, but I'm inclined to believe it's going to be our first look at the new Tomb Raider game Crystal Dynamics first announced way back in 2022. You don't tease "future of one of gaming's most iconic franchises" without knowing that fans are going to expect a video game reveal.

The most telling bit is the new-look Lara. As far back as 2021, Crystal Dynamics was talking about its intent to "unify" the old-school Tomb Raider timeline with the modern Survivor trilogy, and we've occasionally seen new versions of the character blending '90s camp costuming with a more realistic appearance for the character herself. The idea of a "unified" Lara Croft design has grown powerful in the minds of fans, and this new teaser certainly seems to suggest something along those lines.

For now, we have only two concrete bits of information on the new Tomb Raider game: it's being developed in Unreal Engine 5, and it's going to be published by Amazon Games. For a couple of years now, it's seemed that Crystal Dynamics only emerges from its silence to announce another round of layoffs before going quiet once again. Here's hoping this reveal at The Game Awards turns out to be a little more unequivocally positive.

These are the best Tomb Raider games ever made.