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It wasn’t too long ago when Square Enix decided to keep the Eidos brand intact following the acquisition move. Now, that decision no longer stands. The Japanese gaming giant has apparently expressed its intent for future Tomb Raider games to be published by “Square Enix Europe” — Eidos, no longer.

Incumbent Eidos CEO Phil Rogers will be heading the rebranded UK-based publisher, and while the Eidos name will no longer be used for the publishing team behind Lara’s games, the firm’s so-named development studios (Eidos Montreal, among them) will retain their namesake.

[GamesIndustry.Biz]

TRKO of Tomb Raider Forums has created a jaw-dropping cinematic tour of Croft Manor as it appears in Tomb Raider Legend. It achingly reminds us that Lara’s mansion, as we see it here, is now gone after having been set ablaze by Lara’s doppelganger in Underworld. And it also reminds us — on a more nostalgic note — that Tomb Raider start-up menus once looked like this: the stunning fly-by camera views of old. Sigh.

Feel free to five-star the video on YouTube. You know it deserves it.

Nicobass, you are awesome (yes, they are fan-made, and yes, there are LOADS more through the link). That is all.

Thanks to the diligent sleuthing of Gtkilla of Tomb Raider Forums, we might have a possible release window for the ninth major ‘Raider installment in the Lara Croft series of games.

Following the hype surrounding Toby Gard’s re-appointment as Lead Designer at Crystal Dynamics, Laraverse has yet again uncovered a possible clue pointing to the inevitable Tomb Raider 9. Chris Conway, Senior Programmer at Crystal D, has listed “a Tomb Raider game scheduled for release in 2010 or later” under his professional experience in his Plaxo profile.

We actually prefer the “later” bit, but at least a 2010 release breaks Lara Croft’s string of yearly outings. Give the girl a break.

Thanks, TRC!

“Angie isn’t a fan of the Transformers films and believes Megan won’t do the Lara Croft character justice. She’s also annoyed because she thinks Megan copies everything from her, from her tattoos to her style,” said a source close to the actress.

Oddly enough, Megan Fox has recently spoken about the issue (yet again) at a Beverly Hills press con for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, merely echoing what she said in May: “I think that’s a role that Angelina Jolie mastered, and I would never attempt to take that over from her.”

Case closed? You bet. Let’s keep those claws in check, Angie.

[Telegraph UK, Sci-Fi Wire]

Among other sizzling leading ladies of gaming, that is. Thanks to Obama Girl for surveying E3 ’09.

Toby Gard, original creator of Lara Croft back in the ’90s, is now Lead Designer at Crystal Dynamics for an “unnanounced project”, his LinkedIn profile details. Let’s do a quick recap, shall we?

Tomb Raider Fanboy’s May sleuthing pointed us to Underworld senior environmental artist Caleb Strauss also listing an unannounced project he’s working on at Crystal D. And just yesterday, Team Lara posted a job opening for the next Senior Art Director for their next triple A outing. Need we scratch our heads?

Thanks to amiro1989 for the heads up over at Tomb Raider Forums.

Tomb Raider Underworld is Game Developer’s June-July game cover for 2009. The US-based gaming trade publication goes in-depth with Crystal Dynamics on the challenges and the successes of the Redwood-based studio developing the game.

Eric Lindstrom, former Creative Director at Crystal Dynamics, opens up about the earliest decisions about the Tomb Raider sequel and why and how they changed it later on. “Tomb Raider: Underworld was originally planned as an ‘easy’ sequel to the previous game in the series, using the same toolchain — but it never quite works out that way. Eric Lindstrom describes the process, highlighting instances in which the team wasn’t able to avoid known problems.”

You can hop on to the official Game Developer site to get yourself a copy in print or digital format.

[Gamasutra]

It’s no secret Crystal D is officially the new Tomb Raider team as anointed by Eidos. All signs point to another Tomb Raider game in development. Definitely more on this as it develops, which it will…eventually. Meanwhile, you can hop on to Future Games for a round-up of everything you need to know on the next ‘Raider title.

[Gamasutra via TRC]