Crystal Dynamics, Inc. is an American video game developer based in San Mateo, California and part of Embracer Group. The studio's games include entries in the Gex, Legacy of Kain, and Tomb Raider series. Madeline Canepa, Judy Lange, and Dave Morse founded Crystal Dynamics in July 1992 as a spin-off of The 3DO Company and soon hired Strauss Zelnick as its president and chief executive officer (CEO). The studio initially developed games for The 3DO Company's 3DO Interactive Multiplayer system, with its first, Crash 'n Burn, shipping as part of the system in October 1993. Lange left the company in 1994, following a failed attempt to establish Crystal Dynamics as a third-party publisher via an intermediate company. Zelnick left in 1995 to be replaced by Randy Komisar. Between 1995 and 1996, Crystal Dynamics created Gex and published Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. As the company faced financial struggles, it raised capital through Technology Partners and its general partner Ted Ardell, who instituted layoffs of a third of the studio's staff, including Canepa and Komisar, installed himself as CEO, and later hired Rob Dyer as president. After financial issues persisted through 1997, Crystal Dynamics agreed to a takeover by the British publisher Eidos Interactive, which was finalized in November 1998 and saw the exit of Dyer. Under its new owner, the studio created several different kinds of projects, including Project: Snowblind, which had been planned to be part of the Deus Ex series. Eidos put Crystal Dynamics in charge of the Tomb Raider series in 2003, after Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness by the series' creator, Core Design, had been a commercial failure. Crystal Dynamics developed a modernized trilogy of Tomb Raider games: Tomb Raider: Legend (2006), Tomb Raider: Anniversary (2007), and Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008). Following Underworld, the studio began work on a reboot trilogy of the series. During this time, the studio canceled the game Downfall, and Eidos was acquired by Square Enix and renamed Square Enix Limited. The first two games in the new trilogy, Tomb Raider and Rise of the Tomb Raider, were released in 2013 and 2015, respectively. Thereafter, Crystal Dynamics developed Marvel's Avengers while handing the third Tomb Raider game, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, to the sister studio Eidos-Montréal. In August 2018, Crystal Dynamics established the satellite studio Crystal Northwest in Bellevue, Washington, followed by Crystal Southwest in Austin, Texas, in May 2021. In August 2022, Square Enix sold Crystal Dynamics and several related assets to Embracer Group, where they became part of CDE Entertainment. As of April 2022, Crystal Dynamics is developing another Tomb Raider game and is assisting The Initiative with the development of Perfect Dark.
