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The genesis of a game trailer: How the new Tomb Raider trailer was made

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Five years ago, a normal video game trailer was little more than a brief series of either gameplay clips or bits of the game’s CGI moments, strung together with music. It was pragmatic and meant to hit a few key points, but that’s about it. More than anything it was simply designed to herald a new game and to let people know when it would be released. But gradually things began to change.

Over the years, the game trailer has taken on a new level of importance, closer to that of a Hollywood movie trailer. A good trailer can mean the difference between a massive hit, and a title destined for the bargain bin. Typically the best games will find a way to reach the masses regardless, but a good trailer can propel an obscure publisher and developer to the forefront and it can breathe life into a new project.

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For example, take the zombie melee game Dead Island. In January of this year, few people knew that the game was even still in development. It had lost its publisher before eventually landing at Deep Silver, and even then, the game was a minor title without much heat behind it. Then came the trailer.

The trailer for Dead Island is among the best game trailers in recent years. Within a few days, the clip had received several million hits on YouTube, it was front page on many entertainment websites, and soon a bidding war for the rights began in Hollywood (you can see the trailer at the above link). The trailer was entirely CGI, and that CGI was created exclusively for the trailer There was not a single frame of the game itself in the clip, and yet suddenly Dead Island was one of the most anticipated games of the year.

At this year’s E3, many of the biggest games all featured trailers that were exclusively CGI, and they all impressed. It is a trend that will continue, as more and more companies move away from the traditional video game trailers, and go for the style points. But what is the process of creating these trailers?

The majority of the new wave of trailers are handled by groups that are specifically dedicated to trailers, and are not a part of the development teams responsible for the game itself. Of course, there needs to be a strong relationship between the groups in order to make the trailer relay what the developer wants, so the process of creating a trailer has grown more intricate and infinitely more complicated than ever before—but the results are some amazing and jaw-dropping clips. Here are five of our favorites.

One of the more impressive clips to be released recently is the new Tomb Raider trailer, titled “Turning Point,” which was released to show off the reboot of the franchise in time for this year’s E3. Developed by Crystal Dynamic, the game won’t hit shelves until Fall of next year, but the trailer has already helped generate an incredible amount of interest for the project. In the clip below, the developers discuss the process of how the clip was created. Check out the video clip below for a behind the scenes look at the making of a big budget video game trailer.

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Ryan Fleming
Ryan Fleming
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…
Perfect Dark development unaffected by Crystal Dynamics sale
Joanna Dark looking at a pyramid.

Microsoft and The Initiative confirmed that Crystal Dynamics is still assisting with the development of a new Perfect Dark game following the news of Crystal Dynamics' change of ownership.
On May 2, Embracer Group purchased Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, Square Enix Montreal, and the series associated with those studios from Final Fantasy publisher Square Enix. As the studio changed hands, it was possible that outside deals like this one with Microsoft could be at risk.
Clearly, that's not the case, even if Microsoft is surprisingly not the one to acquire Crystal Dynamics. Following the announcement, The Initiative confirmed Crystal Dynamics' continued involvement with Perfect Dark via a tweet.
"We’re excited to see Crystal Dynamics take these next steps with their studio," The Initiative's tweet says. "Our teams have made great progress in building Perfect Dark together as co-development partners, and we will be continuing this work with them in their next chapter."
https://twitter.com/TheInitiative/status/1521022638927187970
The Initiative is a brand-new studio formed by Microsoft to work on Perfect Dark. The studio has reportedly experienced a high amount of turnover as it builds itself up, so studio head Darrell Gallagher brought his former studio, Crystal Dynamics, on board to help get Perfect Dark over the finish line. 
Outside of Perfect Dark, Crystal Dynamics is also working on "exciting experiences from our beloved portfolio of franchises as well as original concepts and IPs developed with partners," according to a tweet from the developer. That includes a brand-new Tomb Raider game built with Unreal Engine 5. 
The new Perfect Dark game still doesn't have a release date, but it's expected to launch for PC and Xbox Series X/S. Hopefully, we will see the game again at Xbox and Bethesda's showcase this June!

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Square Enix sells Tomb Raider, Deus Ex developers to Embracer
Lara Croft runs from a crashing plane in Tomb Raider.

Square Enix has offloaded its North American operations as it announced the sale of Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal to Embracer Group today. The deal also nets Embracer Group over 50 notable franchises such as Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, and Legacy of Kain.
Crystal Dynamics is best known for its work on the Tomb Raider franchise, though it recently released the tumultuous live service Marvel's Avengers game.  Eidos Montreal is behind series like Deus Ex and recently garnered critical acclaim following the release of Guardians of the Galaxy. Square Enix Montreal is a mobile-focused studio that makes games like Lara Croft GO and Hitman Sniper. 

Embracer Group is purchasing the three studios, which employ over 1,100 developers, for only $300 million. The status of certain series like Sleeping Dogs and Gex, as well as the status of the Marvel deal that spawned Marvel's Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy game, are still in question. As of now, the only announced game from these studios is a brand-new Tomb Raider that will run on Unreal Engine 5, though the related press release says Crystal Dynamics is "actively working on several AAA projects."
Meanwhile, the announcement says the Eidos Montreal "is working on a host of AAA projects including both new releases from beloved franchises and original IP," and that Square Enix Montreal "will continue to develop and operate memorable mobile games based on AAA IP." Embracer is interested in these studios' potential to make single-player AAA titles for PC, consoles, and mobile and all of the classic series that come with them. 
While it's not the best-known gaming company, Embracer Group is much bigger than you might think. This European holding company owns a massive range of developers and publishers from around the world. THQ Nordic, Deep Silver, Gearbox, Saber Interactive, Coffee Stain, and all of those studios' subsidiaries are owned by Embracer. The company even has holdings outside of video games, as it recently acquired Asmodee and Dark Horse.
These former Square Enix studios and the franchises that come with them will simply beef up the company's already massive offerings. Embracer and Square Enix expect this deal to close between July and September 2022.

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A new Tomb Raider game is in development on Unreal Engine 5
Shadow of the Tomb Raider Review

Crystal Dynamics confirmed that it is working on a new Tomb Raider game that will use Unreal Engine 5, a game engine now available to all developers. 
At the end of Epic Games' The State of Unreal 2022 presentation, which marked the wide release of Unreal Engine 5 to all developers, Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider franchise general manager Dallas Dickinson confirmed the new project. No gameplay or in-engine development footage was shown, but Dickinson voiced his enthusiasm for using Unreal Engine 5 to create the project.
"This new engine translates into next-level storytelling in gameplay experiences, and that's why we are thrilled to announce today that we have just started development of our next Tomb Raider game, powered by Unreal Engine 5," he said. "Our goal is to push the envelope of fidelity and to deliver the high-quality cinematic action-adventure experience that fans deserve from both Crystal Dynamics and the Tomb Raider franchise." 
https://twitter.com/tombraider/status/1511368712279904258
There are no new story or gameplay details. However, Crystal Dynamics has previously voiced its intention to connect the most recent trilogy and the classic titles with new Tomb Raider media. Outside of Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics is currently working on post-launch support for Marvel's Avengers and is assisting The Initiative in developing the next Perfect Dark game, which also uses Unreal Engine 5. Eidos Montreal, not Crystal Dynamics, actually developed Shadow of the Tomb Raider, so this marks the studio's return to the series. 
The new Tomb Raider is one of several brand-new games that will use Unreal Engine 5, as many studios like Crystal Dynamics and The Witcher's CD Projekt Red have committed to using the game engine for their next titles. The new engine features notable improvements over Unreal Engine 4, namely its Lumen global illumination system and Nanite technology, allowing for increased geometric detail and fidelity.
It sounds like this new Tomb Raider is early in development, so it will likely be a while before we hear more about it. Hopefully, it's an awesome showcase of Unreal Engine 5's power when it launches, presumably only on current-gen platforms. 

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