Indiana Jones: Why Are There No New Video Games?
4. Fuel To The Fire
Lara Croft’s acrobatic endeavours was rejuvenated in 2013 with a reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise, catering to a new demographic of players who were interested in more mature experiences compared to the downright comical interpretation of Lara Croft in the originals.
The game ditched the signature handguns for a bow and climbing axe and focused more on climbing, platforming and cover shooting with an occasional puzzle. A stronger emphasis on blood and gore, some of the death scenes the player could witness if you underestimated a jump or didn’t roll away from a spike in time were stomach curdling to say the least.
The success of Tomb Raider allowed Sqaure Enix to develop the game into a new trilogy. Following the 2013 reboot, Rise Of The Tomb Raider was released in 2015 and Shadow Of The Tomb Raider finished the series in 2018.
With all of this in consideration, any hopes of an Indiana Jones game were dead in the water. They had been sidelined by a more profitable franchise where developers would be accused of copying the formula if they were brave enough to go through with a new release as seen with The Infernal Machine in 1999.