 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | July 8, 1992; 33 years ago (1992-07-08) inPalo Alto, California, US |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | , US |
Key people | Scot Amos (head of studio) |
| Products |
|
Number of employees | 273 (2022) |
| Parent |
|
| Divisions |
|
| Website | crystaldynamics.com |
Crystal Dynamics, Inc. is an Americanvideo game developer based inSan Carlos, California. The studio is best known for its games in theTomb Raider,Legacy of Kain, andGex series.
Madeline Canepa, Judy Lange, andDave Morse founded Crystal Dynamics as aspin-off fromThe 3DO Company in July 1992. Initially focusing on the3DO console, the studio's first title,Crash 'N Burn (1993), was the system'spack-in game. In 1994, it became the first developer for thePlayStation outside Japan and soon began converting its older titles for the system. The studio also createdGex (1995) and publishedBlood Omen: Legacy of Kain (1996), later expanding both into franchises. Facing financial hardships in 1996, the company's investors instituted significant layoffs and the discontinuation of its game publishing business. As fiscal issues persisted, the publisherEidos Interactive acquired the studio in November 1998.
In 2003, Eidos Interactive put Crystal Dynamics in charge of theTomb Raider series, and the studio consequently developed a modernized trilogy withTomb Raider: Legend (2006),Tomb Raider: Anniversary (2007), andTomb Raider: Underworld (2008). In 2009, Crystal Dynamics became part of the Japanese conglomerateSquare Enix as that company acquired and consolidated Eidos Interactive'sparent company. The studio then developed the first two games in aTomb Raiderreboot trilogy—Tomb Raider (2013) andRise of the Tomb Raider (2015)—and shifted into a support role forShadow of the Tomb Raider (2018) while working onMarvel's Avengers (2020). Square Enix sold Crystal Dynamics toEmbracer Group in August 2022.
As of 2022, Crystal Dynamics employs 273 people across three studios under the leadership ofhead of studio Scot Amos. The company is working onTomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis andTomb Raider: Catalyst, which are scheduled for 2026 and 2027, respectively.
Crystal Dynamics was founded by Madeline Canepa, Judy Lange, andDave Morse on July 8, 1992, when theyspun off fromThe 3DO Company.[1][2] Canepa and Lange were previously marketing executives forSega, where the former's integral role in the launch ofSonic the Hedgehog gave her the nickname "Mother of Sonic".[3][4] Morse had co-foundedAmiga Corporation, the creator of theAmiga family ofhome computers, and New Technology Group, which sought to design avideo game console.[1][5] In 1990, New Technology Group had partnered withElectronic Arts to create the3DO, a collaboration that eventually grew into The 3DO Company.[1] At Crystal Dynamics, Lange assumed thepresident role and Canepa headed the marketing department.[6][7] While Morse became itschairman andchief executive officer (CEO), he also continued as New Technology Group's CEO until that company was merged into The 3DO Company.[8][9] Technology Partners andKleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers provided Crystal Dynamics withseed capital.[10] The studio set up its first offices in the retail space ofPalo Alto Airport inPalo Alto, California.[11][12]Mark Cerny, also from Sega, became its first developer later that year.[13] The studio's first projects wereCrash 'N Burn andTotal Eclipse, which entered production simultaneously and were announced aslaunch titles for the upcoming 3DO in April 1993.[6][12] Cerny was vital in the development of thegame engine technology used byCrash 'N Burn,Total Eclipse, andOff-World Interceptor.[5] Developing for the system meant that the company could produce games for theCD-ROM format, avoiding the higher costs associated withcartridges.[11]
In June 1993, Crystal Dynamics hiredStrauss Zelnick as its president and CEO, who resigned from the same roles at20th Century Fox. According to Lange, Zelnick had been hired for his business expertise, whereas creative expertise was already present at the studio, which had twenty-eight developers at that time.[6] Zelnick acquired between 25% and 50% of Crystal Dynamics and brought in further investors through earlier connections:Home Box Office bought 10% in July 1993, followed byKing World Productions acquiring 10% forUS$7.5 million in September of that year.[6][14][15] The combined value of the latter two stakes was estimated at$20 million.[16] Zelnick's background in film and television increased Crystal Dynamics's focus onfull-motion video in its games.[11]Crash 'N Burn was released as the 3DO'spack-in game in October 1993.[17] An editorial inElectronic Gaming Monthly from the same month declared the studio "the hottest new video game company on the upscale scene".[18]
In January 1994, Zelnick drafted plans for Star Interactive, which was to publish third-party games byoutsourcing the management and distribution to Crystal Dynamics and the manufacturing to a third company.[19][20] Crystal Dynamics was to receive annual payments of$1.5 million and 10% of Star Interactive's profit for the management role, plus 22.5% of its gross receipts for the distribution. Star Interactive's management was to consist ofThe Software Toolworks's former seniorvice president (VP) Mark Beaumont as CEO, in addition to Crystal Dynamics's VP of sales Allen Chaplin, and Lange, then the company's executive VP.[21] In February, Zelnick announced his intent for Crystal Dynamics to, like a movie studio, produce games internally while also releasing titles from independent developers.[3] It hiredFred Ford andPaul Reiche III ofToys for Bob, initially as contractors and later as employees, to releaseThe Horde, which they had pitched to Canepa and Lange during their time at Sega.[22] Another potential publishing project had beenNaughty Dog'sWay of the Warrior, which the developer showed to multiple companies during the 1994Consumer Electronics Show.[23] In March 1994,Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG), which Zelnick had beenconsulting, agreed to handle marketing and distribution for Crystal Dynamics and Star Interactive outside North America.[24] However, as Star Interactive failed to raise the targeted$30 million, the plan for this company was scrapped in early 1994 and Lange soon departed Crystal Dynamics.[8][25] In August, the studio had more than 100 employees.[26]
Also in 1994, Crystal Dynamics became the first developer for thePlayStation outside Japan.[11][27] Zelnick had wanted to move away from the struggling 3DO for some time, and Cerny traveled to the headquarters of the PlayStation makerSony inTokyo on the company's behalf.[11][13] Although PlayStation contracts were limited to companies in Japan at the time, Cerny spoke Japanese fluently and signed the agreement in that language, which was approved byShuhei Yoshida.[13][27] As Cerny was hired as the head ofUniversal Interactive Studios shortly thereafter, he never used the PlayStationgame development kit the company received.[13] By October 1994, the 3DO's poor commercial performance had a significant impact on the company.[8] John Eastburn, the studio'schief operating officer, estimated that 3DO game developers could notbreak even unless its consumer base expanded from 75,000 to 500,000.[28] In December 1994, the studio partnered with the 3DO manufacturerMatsushita Electric, enabling its 3DO games to be distributed through 10,000consumer electronics stores.[29] In January 1995, Zelnick left Crystal Dynamics to manage BMG's North American operations, remaining adirector andshareholder in Crystal Dynamics.[30] After this move was announced in September 1994, the vacant CEO position attracted several parties interested in acquiring the studio. Although The 3DO Company andSpectrum HoloByte were frequently rumored as potential buyers, Morse stated that Crystal Dynamics was not for sale, having spare savings of$20 million and a newly acquired loan of$5 million fromSilicon Valley Bank.[1][8] He subsequently took up the CEO role and became significantly more involved in the studio.[9][31] The company hiredRandy Komisar fromLucasArts as president and CEO in May 1995.[31] Under Komisar, Crystal Dynamics began converting its older 3DO games to the PlayStation andSega Saturn.[32][33]
Crystal Dynamics sought to emulate major game companies by designing amascot character, resulting in the 1995 gameGex, which features ananthropomorphic gecko of the same name.[11] Around this time, Crystal Dynamics publishedSlam 'N Jam '95 andBlazing Dragons, while also was working with Canada-basedSilicon Knights onBlood Omen: Legacy of Kain. The latter project began to lose focus as it grew in scope, so the publisher engagedAmy Hennig to make the game more engaging.[11]
By 1996, due largely to the unexpectedly slow growth of the CD-ROM games market, the studio was financially stricken.[34][35] In June, the company revealed plans for a reorganization: Theboard of directors appointed Ted Ardell, ageneral partner at Technology Partners, as CEO. Komisar, Canepa, and Eastburn were ousted and a third of the company's 102 employees were laid off over three months.[10][33] Crystal Dynamics subsequently ceased publishing efforts to focus solely on internally developed games.[34] Surplus computer hardware and office equipment were auctioned off in September of that year.[36] Ardell managed the day-to-day operations, and the studio lacked a president until Rob Dyer, previously senior VP andgeneral manager, was promoted to this position in April 1997.[37][38]
Following the release of the secondGex game,Gex: Enter the Gecko, Crystal Dynamics began producingGex 3: Deep Cover Gecko.[11] By this point, many developers—including most of theGex team andEnter the Gecko's lead designer, Daniel Arey—had left the company, with some of them joining Naughty Dog.[11][39]Bruce Straley, adesigner onEnter the Gecko, was offered the director role for the third game, but he chose to join his friends at Naughty Dog instead.[11] Crystal Dynamics further began the development of a secondLegacy of Kain game, codenamedShifter, without Silicon Knights's involvement. While Hennig and Seth Carus created original characters, Silicon Knights filed aninjunction, accusing Crystal Dynamics of plagiarizing the characters fromBlood Omen. In a privatesettlement, the two companies agreed that Crystal Dynamics could useBlood Omen's characters as long as Silicon Knights was credited as their creator.Shifter ultimately becameLegacy of Kain: Soul Reaver.[11] Toys for Bob, as part of Crystal Dynamics, developedPandemonium! andThe Unholy War, while consulting onPandemonium 2.[22]
Following losses of$1.5 million in its 1997fiscal year, Crystal Dynamics agreed to be bought by the British publisherEidos Interactive in September 1998 for£28.4 million (equivalent to$47.5 million) paid in cash.[40][41] The studio had returned to over 100 employees by this time.[42] Originally set to close on October 31, the acquisition was completed on November 5, 1998.[41][43][44] Dyer and Crystal Dynamics's VP of marketing, Scott Steinberg, subsequently acceded to Eidos Interactive as president and senior VP of marketing, respectively, in January 1999.[45] Toys for Bob's final project under Crystal Dynamics wasDisney's 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue. The team was subsequently fired during a Christmas party.[22]
Among Crystal Dynamics's early projects under Eidos Interactive wereMad Dash Racing (2001) andWhiplash (2003). The publisher also sought afirst-person shooter with asci-fi setting akin toDeus Ex, ultimately mandating it be part of the series. This decision was reversed six months before the game's completion, and it was released asProject: Snowblind in 2005.[11] In the meantime, the Eidos Interactive studioCore Design was completing its work onTomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, its sixth game in theTomb Raider series within seven years. Released as a commercial failure in 2003, developers at Crystal Dynamics believed the game to be in a poor final state. Eidos Interactive consequently assigned the series to Crystal Dynamics, with several staffers excited about the possibility of working on a large franchise they had played before.[11][46] Hennig, who had since been the director for mostLegacy of Kain games, requested to be involved with such a project but was directed to design anotherSoul Reaver game instead. This led her to leave the studio and join Naughty Dog, where she created theUncharted series.[11]
ForTomb Raider: Legend, the developers at Crystal Dynamics played through all previous games and readguides to gain a better understanding of their design. They intended to return to the series's roots of exploring abandoned places while adding an original feel, particularly through a new control scheme.[11] The game was released in April 2006 and proved successful, selling 2.9 million copies within its first few months.[47] Its designers then pitchedTomb Raider: Anniversary, aremake ofthe originalTomb Raider based on the gameplay ofLegend. They worked withToby Gard, one of the series's creators, to understand the intentions behind certain scenes and unrealized concepts from the original game. The game's scope was reduced to roughly half of the original game, which had been deemed too large to remake entirely, and the studio needed to deviate from the original design where it did not suit the newer gameplay.Anniversary was completed in nine months.[11]
The last game in Crystal Dynamics's originalTomb Raider trilogy wasTomb Raider: Underworld. Around this time, a team within the studio pitched a newintellectual property calledDownfall, a post-apocalyptic,open-world game set inSan Francisco. However, the studio considered working on two large projects simultaneously as too ambitious and decided to halt development onDownfall.[11] Eidos Interactive laid off roughly 30 people from Crystal Dynamics in January 2009, citing the studio's increased focus onTomb Raider, and installed Darrell Gallagher as thehead of studio.[48][49]
By January 2009,Underworld had sold 1.5 million, falling short of Eidos Interactive's expectations. The publisher blamed this largely on issues distributing the game in North America. Eidos plc, Eidos Interactive'spublicly traded parent company, then significantly lowered its sales forecast, and itsshare price fell to its lowest point in mid-January.[50][51] The Japanese video game companySquare Enix subsequently offered to acquire Eidos plc, citing particular interest in theTomb Raider franchise and the prospect of expanding its Western operations.[51] The buy-out was approved by Eidos plc in March and completed in April.[52] Under Square Enix, another 25 staffers were dismissed from Crystal Dynamics in June 2009 "to focus resources".[53] Gard, who had led a team for an unannounced project for a few months, left the studio in September.[54] In November, Square Enix integrated Eidos Interactive into its European operations to formSquare Enix Limited.[55][56] Gallagher was later promoted to oversee all Square Enix studios in Europe and North America while retaining his role at Crystal Dynamics.[57]
Crystal Dynamics continued to work on theTomb Raider series, with intentions toreboot the series for new audiences. Over several years, the team discarded many concepts that would have drastically changed the core gameplay, before deciding on a modern, story-driven game withsurvival elements. The story was planned over three games, beginning with a neworigin story. In the meantime, Crystal Dynamics sustained the franchise with the 2010 release ofLara Croft and the Guardian of Light, aspin-off with different gameplay. The first game in the reboot trilogy, titledTomb Raider, was released in 2013.[11] The studio followed upLara Croft and the Guardian of Light withLara Croft and the Temple of Osiris in 2014.Rise of the Tomb Raider was released in 2015.[11] In December of that year, Gallagher left the studio and was replaced by Scot Amos and Ron Rosenberg, long-time producers at the company.[49][58] Brian Horton, the senior art director forTomb Raider and director ofRise of the Tomb Raider, left in 2016.[59]
In January 2017, Square Enix announced a partnership withMarvel Entertainment to create multiple video games based onMarvel characters, with Crystal Dynamics developingMarvel's Avengers.[60] The studio had pitched a single-player game akin toTomb Raider that would see the player take control of theAvengers group of superheroes, switching between characters as the story progressed. However, the studio found that playing one character at a time failed to capture the team dynamic of the Avengers, leading them to refocus the project on multiplayer gameplay.[60] With Crystal Dynamics working onMarvel's Avengers, the third game in theTomb Raider reboot trilogy,Shadow of the Tomb Raider, was handed to the sister studioEidos-Montréal, with a small team at Crystal Dynamics working on minor parts of the game.[11]
In August 2018, Crystal Dynamics opened the satellite studio Crystal Northwest inBellevue, Washington, to support the development ofMarvel's Avengers.[61] The late stages of the development saw the onset of theCOVID-19 pandemic and consequent shift towork from home, which the studio had not been used to. Because the developers mostly worked alone during this time, the game launched with several issues they had been unaware of and needed later addressing. Afterward, Crystal Dynamics implemented hybrid work and remote hiring.[11] In May 2021, Crystal Dynamics opened Crystal Southwest inAustin, Texas, under the leadership of Dallas Dickinson, who had been anexecutive producer for the company.[62] Later that year, Crystal Dynamics joined Gallagher's newer studio,The Initiative, in developinga reboot of thePerfect Dark series.[11][63] Crystal Dynamics was initially to replace the departedCertain Affinity as a support studio but soon took over several unfilled lead roles as the game's development was restarted.[64] The studio further announced anotherTomb Raider game in April 2022.[65]
In May 2022,Embracer Group announced it would acquire several games and studios, including Crystal Dynamics with itsTomb Raider andLegacy of Kain series, from Square Enix for$300 million.[66] At the time, the studio had 273 employees across its three studios.[67] Square Enix told investors it feared the studios would subsist off the revenue of the group's Japanese-made games, so their sale "could improvecapital efficiency".[68] Embracer Group expressed interest in continuing the studio's established franchises, includingTomb Raider andLegacy of Kain, through sequels, remakes, andremasters.[69] The acquisition was completed on August 26, 2022, and Crystal Dynamics became a part of the newCDE Entertainment operating group.[70] Square Enix retained theGex franchise and announced ports to modern platforms withGex Trilogy in July 2023.[71]
In September 2023, at a time when Embracer Group was implementingcost reduction measures, Crystal Dynamics laid off nine marketing personnel and oneIT worker.[72] The studio had previously stated that such layoffs would not impact itsPerfect Dark andTomb Raider projects.[73] Crystal Dynamics collaborated withAspyr, another Embracer Group company, on two collections with remasters of Core Design's sixTomb Raider games.Tomb Raider I–III Remastered was released in February 2024, andTomb Raider IV–VI Remastered was released in February 2025.[74][75] The two companies also worked onLegacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered, released in December 2024.[76] Crystal Dynamics laid off 17 employees in March 2025, andPerfect Dark was canceled with the closure of The Initiative in July.[77][78] According toJason Schreier ofBloomberg News, the managements of Crystal Dynamics and The Initiative spent two months trying to find an external publisher for the game. After a tentative agreement withTake-Two Interactive collapsed due to disagreements over the franchise's ownership, Crystal Dynamics laid off further staff in late August 2025.[79][80] Thirty more staff were dismissed in November.[81] Duringthe Game Awards 2025 in December, the company announcedTomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, a reimagining of the first game, andTomb Raider: Catalyst, an original entry, for release in 2026 and 2027, respectively, withAmazon Game Studios set to publish both.[82][83]
| Year | Title | Platform(s) | Publisher(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Crash 'N Burn | 3DO | Crystal Dynamics |
| 1994 | Total Eclipse | 3DO,PlayStation | |
| Off-World Interceptor | 3DO, PlayStation,Sega Saturn | ||
| Samurai Shodown | 3DO | ||
| 1995 | Gex | 3DO, PlayStation, Sega Saturn,Windows | Crystal Dynamics,Microsoft |
| Solar Eclipse | PlayStation, Sega Saturn | Crystal Dynamics | |
| 1996 | 3D Baseball | PlayStation, Sega Saturn | |
| 1997 | Pandemonium 2 | PlayStation, Windows | Midway Games |
| 1998 | Gex: Enter the Gecko | Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Windows | |
| 1999 | Akuji the Heartless | PlayStation | Eidos Interactive |
| Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko | Nintendo 64, PlayStation | ||
| Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver | Dreamcast, PlayStation, Windows | ||
| 2000 | Walt Disney World Quest: Magical Racing Tour | Dreamcast, PlayStation, Windows | |
| 2001 | Soul Reaver 2 | PlayStation 2, Windows | |
| Mad Dash Racing | Xbox | ||
| 2002 | Blood Omen 2 | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Windows, Xbox | |
| 2003 | Legacy of Kain: Defiance | PlayStation 2, Windows, Xbox | |
| Whiplash | PlayStation 2, Xbox | ||
| 2005 | Project: Snowblind | PlayStation 2, Windows, Xbox | |
| 2006 | Tomb Raider: Legend | GameCube, PlayStation 2,PlayStation 3,PlayStation Portable, Windows, Xbox,Xbox 360 | |
| 2007 | Tomb Raider: Anniversary | macOS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable,Wii, Windows, Xbox 360 | |
| 2008 | Tomb Raider: Underworld | macOS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Windows, Xbox 360 | |
| 2010 | Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light | Android,BlackBerry PlayBook,iOS,Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3,Stadia, Windows, Xbox 360 | Square Enix |
| 2013 | Tomb Raider | Linux, macOS, Nintendo Switch,Nintendo Switch 2,Nvidia Shield TV, PlayStation 3,PlayStation 4, Stadia, Windows, Xbox 360,Xbox One | |
| 2014 | Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris | Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One | |
| 2015 | Rise of the Tomb Raider | Linux, macOS, PlayStation 4, Stadia, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Microsoft Studios, Square Enix,Feral Interactive |
| 2018 | Shadow of the Tomb Raider | Linux, macOS, PlayStation 4, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One | Square Enix |
| 2020 | Marvel's Avengers | PlayStation 4,PlayStation 5, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One,Xbox Series X/S | |
| 2024 | Tomb Raider I–III Remastered | Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Aspyr |
| Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered | |||
| 2025 | Tomb Raider IV–VI Remastered | ||
| 2026 | Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis | PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows | Amazon Game Studios |
| 2027 | Tomb Raider: Catalyst |
| Year | Title | Platform(s) | Developer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | The Horde | 3DO,MS-DOS,PlayStation,Sega Saturn | Toys for Bob |
| Star Control II | 3DO | ||
| PaTaank | 3DO | PF.Magic | |
| 1995 | Slam 'N Jam '95 | 3DO | Left Field Productions |
| 1996 | Slam 'N Jam '96 Featuring Magic & Kareem | MS-DOS, PlayStation, Sega Saturn | |
| Blazing Dragons | PlayStation, Sega Saturn | The Illusions Gaming Company | |
| Pandemonium! | PlayStation, Sega Saturn,Windows | Toys for Bob | |
| Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain | PlayStation, Windows | Silicon Knights |
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