Cancelled Tomb Raider game surfaces and it's a shame this never became a reality

Footage from a cancelled Tomb Raider game has now surfaced online, and I’m really upset this game didn’t become a reality.

Next year’s release of Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis closes the gap on a nine-year wait between it and the previous game, Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

While we wait for that though, a new report has revealed details about a new Tomb Raider game, which allegedly began development in November 2024 but was cancelled in January earlier this year.

As Mp1st reports, the game was given the internal codename of ‘Project U’, and was going to be a VR spin-off of the Tomb Raider series developed in Unreal Engine 5, with over 50 developers working on the title.

Although the Tomb Raider franchise had toyed with VR in the past, most notably in the form of a VR mode in Rise of the Tomb Raider and a small tie-in game made to promote the 2018 Tomb Raider film, this would have been the first time the franchise had a proper VR installation.

Six months on from the project’s cancellation, footage and screenshots of the game have now surfaced, giving players a look into what the game would have looked like and how it would have played.

The video shows off some levels that would have been featured in the game, with the player climbing up a large cliff and then exploring a desert.

Moving into a cave, the player would then have encounters with wildlife such as tigers and scorpions. They would also get to use archery to solve puzzles, and also have access to a handgun to defeat threats.

Some of Tomb Raider’s more supernatural threats also make an appearance, like the armoured skeletons which appear as enemies in Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation.

Read More: Tomb Raider October 2026 Release Is Perfect During Wait For New Game

Tomb Raider seems very suited for a VR spin-off

All-in-all, it’s a shame that Tomb Raider VR never became a reality.

Previous VR attempts, such as the bonus mode in Rise of the Tomb Raider was definitely a fun experiment, but the Lara Croft fantasy feels like it’s incredibly suitable for a first-person, virtual reality interface.

Some games, which also feature archery and climbing, such as Horizon: Call of the Mountain, have proven that you can adapt this gameplay style in interesting ways, and tying this into a past Tomb Raider narrative would have been an excellent thing to keep us going while we have to wait for Lara’s next main series adventure.

Project U was being made by VR developer Vertigo Studios, known for making VR spin-offs of well-known gaming franchises.

Previously, Vertigo Studios worked on VR titles Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow (which I liked) and Metro Awakening. It’s also known for developing the Arizona Sunshine series of VR zombie shooters, and has a few other games under its belt.

The company shut down its Amsterdam studio last month, saying that the VR market "remains a challenging space".