Lara not needed as TimeSplitters and Hitman head up Christmas

It is likely that the new Tomb Raider game from Core, to be published by Eidos, will not see a release this year.

Speculation has been growing for some time that the initial release date, set for December would not be reached following an information black-out from the usually vocal PR and marketing team at Eidos.

Industry insiders are well aware that in the run up to any key release from Ian Livingstone’s firm, a media barrage of screenshots, artwork and information is released. To date, this has not happened for the Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness.

Far from being a disaster for Eidos, this slippage might prove positive as its two current multi-format high-profile releases, TimeSplitters 2 and Hitman 2, sell well throughout Europe. Hitman 2 even managed to knock Mario Sunshine off the top spot whist TimeSplitters 2 was seen to sell out around the country over its launch last weekend. The Xbox version did particularly well with many gamers unable to get a copy due to massive demand for the seminal console FPS.

Insiders at Eidos are welcoming the news, as it will leave the firm to concentrate on its current releases. This will also gift Tomb Raider the privilege of being the only AAA title in the market in the run up to Easter, without the need to jostle for attention in what is shaping up to be one of the busiest Christmas periods ever seen.

Eidos is expected to comment within the next few weeks.