Instrumental to the success of the rebooted Tomb Raider franchise, Rhianna Pratchett has called time on her work with the survival gaming icon.
Playing a huge role in the writer's room of both the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot and last year's Rise of the Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics announced yesterday that Rhianna won't be part of the inevitable third entry in the series as she's off "to pursue new adventures".
The full post, which you can see on Tumblr of all places, reads: "Crystal Dynamics and Rhianna Pratchett are announcing today that Rhianna is off to pursue new adventures separate from the Tomb Raider franchise. Rhianna was instrumental in helping us find Lara’s voice in the 2013 origin story, and through Rise of the Tomb Raider she shaped Lara into the evolving heroine we know today. The entire team thanks Rhianna for her dedication and tireless efforts on the games. Please join us in wishing Rhianna the absolute best in her next adventure."
Feel the need to throw up? Playing Thumper in VR is likely a good catalyst.
The daughter of the late Terry Pratchett, Rhianna has served in the gaming industry time and time again playing a role in the creation of games like Mirror's Edge, Bioshock Infinite and Heavenly Sword. In a time where the portrayal of female characters is a massive subject within the industry, the departure of such a prolific talent on a character she helped mold into one of the industry's finest examples will likely have a knock-on effect of some kind.
Hopefully she's off to work on another game. But who knows. We'll likely hear more once she's working on something that's ready to be made public.
