Square Enix Takes Action Against Alleged Tomb Raider Leaks

The "Tomb Raider" series is among one of the longest-running in gaming. First debuting in 1996, "Tomb Raider" has seen its share of reboots and branching timelines. Its current iteration, the Survival Timeline, was a complete reimagining of the series that garnered much success. Its most recent entry, 2018's "Shadow of the Tomb Raider," was generally well-received (per Metacritic) and even released new DLC until 2019. Additionally, the Survival Timeline spawned a major motion picture produced by Warner Bros the same year "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" released. Unfortunately, however, things aren't looking good for the film's sequel.

It's been four years since the last "Tomb Raider" game, and fans are clamoring to see what's next for the famous treasure hunter. Recently, the PlayStation-centric podcast "Sacred Symbols" leaked an alleged script from the next "Tomb Raider" game — currently going by the title "Project Jawbreaker" — and it has fans excited. According to the podcast, the script was used to audition voice actors for the role of a new "authentic British" Laura Croft. The podcast itself took the opportunity to reenact the script's dialogue in over-the-top cockney British accents.

Seemingly, the script outlines a bit about the game, listing "Project Jawbreaker" as "an action-adventure game set in a modern-day world rocked by a mysterious cataclysm." However, according to new reports, the developers of "Tomb Raider," Square Enix, did not take kindly to the leak.

According to "Sacred Symbols" in a recent YouTube video, the very same day the podcast containing the leaks was uploaded, "Tomb Raider" developer Crystal Dynamics, a company under Square Enix's control, sent the podcast a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) warning through Patreon.

During their discussion of the DMCA, the podcast was joined by legal analyst Rick Hoeg to explain the situation further. Host Colin Moriarty began the discussion by stating that he disagreed with the DMCA claim, "I do feel like this does fall into some realm of fair use. I didn't steal it, I didn't ask for it, I didn't buy it," Moriarty said. He also went on to say that he wasn't mad at Crystal Dynamics or Patreon but was simply confused by the situation. In response, legal analyst Hoeg explained that although the situation is a bit of a gray area, it would cost a considerable amount of time and money to fight in court.

However, Moriarty stated that the team was not looking for a legal battle and explained that they have since removed the "Tom Raider" leak section of the podcast from Patreon. He also noted that the DMCA was only for Patreon, so the leaks could still be viewed on other sources, such as YouTube. Although there's no official word on the future of "Tomb Raider" video games, many will view this DMCA takedown as confirmation that the leaks were real and that a new "Tomb Raider" is on its way.