Earlier this year, the Noclip documentary crew teamed up with Crystal Dynamics developers and staff to tell the story of one of the gaming industry’s most prestigious studios in their crowdfunded documentary “30 Years of Crystal Dynamics”.

From Crystal Dynamics’ humble beginnings in Silicon Valley in 1992 to its best-selling AAA games of the 21st century, the almost two-hour documentary offers an in-depth insight into the company’s exceptional history and explains how and why the California-based studio was tasked with giving the Tomb Raider franchise a new lease on life.

Inheriting a critically acclaimed and much-loved game series like Tomb Raider presented the company with a unique set of challenges and the Crystal Dynamics team were perfectly aware of that when they took over from Core Design. Over the course of 50 minutes, the Tomb Raider team give gamers an insight into the development of the Legend and Survivor trilogy games. They discuss the “sobering responsibility” they felt in respecting Lara Croft’s legacy and creating games that her fans would be proud of. They also speak candidly about the seismic shift that occurred when Eidos and Crystal were acquired by Square Enix .

If you would like to learn more about the company’s 30-year history or its various intellectual properties, you should consider watching the full documentary. But if you’re only interested in hearing about the company’s work on the Tomb Raider franchise, skip to timecode 41:23.

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Have you had the chance to watch “30 Years of Crystal Dynamics”? What are your thoughts on the documentary and the company’s handling of the Tomb Raider franchise? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below!

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