Now art director at Call of Duty studio

Tomb Raider Senior Art Director and Rise of the Tomb Raider Game Director Brian Horton has left Crystal Dynamics, the developer announced via the official Tomb Raider Tumblr account Friday.

"It’s been a huge honor to be a part of the Tomb Raider franchise and the team at Crystal Dynamics," shared Horton. "I’ve met fans from all over ?the world, both in person and online, to share in our love for the franchise and Lara Croft.

"After working on two amazing games, my family and I have decided to return to Southern California and start a new adventure," Horton continued. "As sad as I am to leave the team at Crystal, I’m excited to play their future games as a fan?. Thanks again for the years of support and feedback and I hope to stay in touch with you all online."

That next adventure in Southern California is apparently Activision's Los Angeles-based Call of Duty factory, Infinity Ward, the studio behind Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Ghosts. As of this month, Horton is Infinity Ward's Studio Art Director, according to his LinkedIn account.

Previously, Horton worked at a number of companies, including Disney Interactive, EA, Vivendi Universal, and DreamWorks Interactive on titles such as Medal of Honor and F.E.A.R. 3. 

Infinity Ward is expected to unveil and release a new Call of Duty title later this year, following the launches of Sledgehammer Games' Call of Duty: Advance Warfare in 2014 and Treyarch's more recent offering, Call of Duty: Black Ops III.

Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix plan to unleash Rise of the Tomb Raider for PC on January 28.

Bon voyage Brian Horton! [Crystal Dynamics, LinkedIn]

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Clearing 8.5M copies

The 2013 reboot of Tomb Raider was always expected to move a lot of units. That much was clear when Square Enix initially deemed it a "failure"?? after first-month figures yielded a very respectable (yet not good enough) 3.4 million sales.

Fast-forward two years, and Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider has made up a lot of ground. According to a report from GameSpot, the game just crossed 8.5 million units -- a statistic which makes it the best-selling individual entry in the Tomb Raider franchise. That number includes 2014's Definitive Edition ?;for PS4 and Xbox One, which undoubtedly gave it a nice boost.

Crystal Dynamics is understandably excited about this milestone. Studio head Darrell Gallagher said "Tomb Raider ignited and expanded the fan base, pushing the series to a new level. The game's incredible sales success reflects the ??passionate response of players." 

Only a month ago, Crystal Dynamics claimed that Tomb Raider was at 7.5 million lifetime sales. It's highly likely that being featured as one of Xbox's Games with Gold for March contributed to the overall numbers. Even as such, the developer has to be thrilled with where its 2013 game ranks in the pantheon of Tomb Raider titles.

Tomb Raider Reboot Sells 8.5 Million Copies?, Breaks Franchise ?Records [GameSpot]

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See what's new

We saw the comparison video, now developer Crystal Dynamics shows us exactly what went down to making Tomb Raider all next-gen-y. Lara looks more lifelike than ever, especially with her facial expressions as her face was re-created from scratch for the Definitive Edition.

Lara's hair flows more realistically, her skin shows off more damage, and a lot of stuff now has physics elements that weren't in ?place in the original game.

The Definitive Edition is looking remarkab?le, though personally I don't think I'll be replaying the game as much as I liked it the first g??o around. Look for this one to arrive on January 28 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

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Square Enix initially expected to sell 5-6 million units

Last year's Tomb Raider reboot has finally reached the land of profitability, despite initially failing to meet ??the sales targets set by publisher Square Enix. In an interview with Eurogamer, executiv??e producer Scott Amos revealed that the game reached profit??ability at the end of 2013. 

"By the end of last year -- Tomb Raider is in the black. We've crossed the line of profitability for the last-gen and PC versions," Scott explains, which has to be good news for Square Enix as they gear up for the launch of the new "definitive" edition of Tomb Raider for the PS4 and Xbox One. 

It's no surprise we're scratching our heads when it comes to working out if a AAA game is truly successful or not; Tomb Raider failed to meet lofty sales targets but was then swiftly granted a follow up. Are publishers really looking at the long-term sales or is it a case of, as it seems to be with Tomb Raider, a sequel to an under-performing but well-loved IP is still ?a good idea?

"As a franchise, Square Enix is clearly invested in us," Scott concludes. One has to wonder how well that investment would last if the next big Tomb Raider game takes another nine months to break even.

Tomb Raider finally achieved?? profitability "by the end of last year" [Eurogamer]

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Raid tombs on the next-gen consoles

During VGX Square Enix unveiled a trailer showing the pretty graphics from the upcoming Definitive Edition of Tomb Raider for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. It looks really pretty, but it looks almost exactly like the original trailers for the game. Running at 1080p is cool, but the PC version can already run at 4k.

This version is really for anyone that somehow missed playing Tomb Raider, and those who want something that loo??ks awesome to play on their new consoles. I think it's actually great that they are releasing this version, but the ?$60 price tag seems steep for a game that's almost a year old.

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'Fully re-built' for next gen consoles

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition is coming to P??S4 and Xbox One on January 28, 2014??.

The Definitive Edition has been "custom built" for the next gen consoles and includes all of the original DLC, digital versions of the Dark Horse comic, a mini art book, and a developer video. Those who pre-order will receive "special art book packaging?? featuring never-before-seen concept art."

It's a nice package for console owners who want to play Tomb Raider in its technical glory -- if you need textures at 4x native resolution or want to play in 1080p (even on the Xbox One, apparently), but it's sort of disappointing to ponder, "Is this what next gen means?" Games from last generation rebuilt to look prettier? And sold at $60 when Tomb Raider for PC, which is very pretty, is on sale on Steam right now for $10?

It's hard not to wonder if Tomb Raider not meeting sales expectations is the reason behind this release. Get some more money from the first product while working on the sequel. The ?sequel that would have proved a much more exciting announcement.

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Yeah, I'd play it again

On Amazon's Italian site, there is a PlayStation 4 listing for something called Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition that's said to be releasing on January 24 for €59.99. According to the description, this re-release includes all of the game's DLC, most of which is geared toward multiplayer. And, presumably, we'll be able to see Lara's flowing hair in all its glory.

The site doesn't explicitly mention an Xbox One version, though there has been talk of exactly that after GameStop's German site previously listed "Tomb Raider" for the platform. I quite liked the current version on PC and, come to think of it, it wa??s the first game in the series that I ?played to completion. Would you be down for a double dip, or was once enough?

Amazon Italy Lists Tomb Raider: Definit??ive Edition for PS4, Provides Date and Details [DualShockers]

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