Multiplayer Modes Shoehorned Into Tomb Raider

Not wanting to be left out of the latest trends in the video game industry, Square Enix has officially confirmed that Tomb Raider will have some sort of multiplayer mode forced into the game when it launches next March.

The official reveal of Tomb Raider‘s multiplayer offerings takes place within the pages of issue #145 of Official Xbox Magazine (which can be found in subscribers’ mailboxes starting today and on newsstands January 8th), so currently we have no solid information on what the game’s multiplayer modes are or how many are included in the game.

The only details that we know for certain is that Crystal Dynamics is only working on the “single-player experience” and all development on the multiplayer modes is taking place at their sister studio Eidos Montreal. Additionally, Crystal Dynamics mentioned on the game’s official blog that the multiplayer modes were “inspired by the overwhelmingly positive response to co-op play in Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light“, and that the studio will have more details to share at CES next month.

Unofficially, we have a few other bits of information thanks to a brief listing on GAME’s website. Recently the UK retailer listed multiplayer as a feature in the upcoming title, stating that players will be able to “play a variety of multiplayer modes as Lara’s Shipmates or Yamatai’s Scavengers”. That description has since been removed from GAME’s online site, however, the existence of the multiplayer mode(s) was officially confirmed shortly after GAME took down their listing, so it would be reasonable to assume that it was accurate.

Tomb Raider is currently set to launch on March 5, 2013 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. As soon as any additional details about either the single-player game or the multiplayer modes is announced we will let you know. In the meantime, let us know you thoughts on Square Enix’s decision to include multiplayer into Lara’s next adventure in the comment section below.