Crystal Dynamics has announced that a new entry to the continued adventures of Lara Croft will appear later this year in the form of Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, and will be available as a digital download.

General Manager of Crystal Dynamics Darrell Gallagher said of the announcement:

“This is a really exciting project for Crystal Dynamics, we have created something completely new and very different to what people might be expecting.

“Lara Croft is such an iconic character in videogames, with Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light we have created what we believe is a truly original digital experience.”

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light will be shown “behind closed doors” at next week’s Game Developer’s Conference, so some more information will hopefully be ‘leaked’ out then.

Dropping the ‘Tomb Raider’ wording from the title now frees the developer up to focus on Lara Croft as a character (like any other character-driven game, such as Max Payne, Alan Wake or even Uncharted), and doesn’t necessarily condemn Ms. Croft to exploring dreary underground dungeons as before – a move that should have happened years ago.

Good show!