Following indications that Eidos, now Square Enix Europe, would "need to look at everything as we develop the next [Tomb Raider] game," the first details for one particular concept of "the next Tomb Raider video game" have surfaced online.

Images of a fact sheet and concept art first appeared at fourplayercoop, but were quickly removed after the site was contacted by lawyers representing developer Crystal Dynamics. However, some were able to archive the images before their removal.

Going by the snapshots and included details, the proposed title would serve as a reboot for the action-adventure series and toss in elements of survival horror... Read more

Square Enix, the newfound owner of Tomb Raider publisher Eidos, is to combine various aspects of the two companies into a streamlined outfit called "Square Enix Europe."

"Square Enix Europe (final name TBC) will include Eidos' global network of studios and combine the Square Enix and Eidos European sales and marketing businesses to create one efficient and powerful structure for game publishing," Square told MCV.

As for North America, "all marketing, sales and distribution functions will be transferred from Eidos Inc to Square Enix in this territory."

The shifts are expected to result in some layoffs, with Square "hoping to minimise this wherever possible and offer support and advice to any employees directly affected."

Thanks to crummynz for the tip.

Eidos Life President Ian Livingstone has revealed another Hitman game is in the works, as well as details on other upcoming sequels, in an interview with Gaming Indians.

"We haven't even announced the game yet" says Livingstone, "So everything you hear about the next Hitman game is purely speculation at this point." He goes on to speculate that the game is being developed by series creators and veterans IO Interactive.

The Hitman sequel is perhaps little surprise, as all other Eidos franchises listed in corporate documents released in April were already known to have sequels underway.

Livingstone also reveals that the sequel to Kane & Lynch: Dead Men under development at IO Interactive is currently scheduled for a September release, though "these games often slip because the production times are so difficult to predict."

On Tomb Raider, Livingstone says "The next Tomb Raider, I think, will surprise a lot of people and reinvigorate the franchise. There are some remarkable things we're doing in the next Tomb Raider to make you say, 'Oh Lara, I love you so much!'" Oh Ian!

With Square Enix's $120 million purchase of Eidos now complete, lifetime sales figures of their major franchises have been revealed.

The information was provided as part of Square Enix's "Corporate Strategy Meeting," during which the company discussed "synergies" and presented materials on the "Eidos Integration."

Square Enix
• Final Fantasy franchise > 85 million units
• Dragon Quest franchise > 47 million units
• Kingdom Hearts franchise > 12 million units
Eidos
• Tomb Raider franchise > 30 million units
• Hitman franchise > 8 million units

Details on the sales of other Eidos-owned franchises, including Kane & Lynch (around 1.75 million units) and Deus Ex (over 2 million units), were also provided in bar graph form, along with individual figures for the various iterations of Hitman and Tomb Raider.

Confirming recent rumors, Japanese publisher and Final Fantasy series developer Square Enix today made an offer to buy Eidos for 84.3 million pounds, or $120 million.

The overall company, which recently changed its name from SCi to that of its well-known publisher subsidiary Eidos, has long been the subject of frequent takeover rumors due to ever-worsening financial conditions. It owners numerous development studios and properties, including Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Carmageddon, Hitman, and Kane & Lynch.

"Eidos' products are highly complementary to our business and will accelerate our aggressive expansion into Western markets," said Square Enix president Yoichi Wada.

Before moving forward, Eidos will need a majority of its shareholders to approve of the acquisition, with a meeting scheduled for March. Square noted that all of Eidos' directors "intend unanimously to recommend" that shareholders take the offer.

According to Square, its offer represents a 129% premium over the worth of Eidos' stock, as of yesterday, February 11, 2009.

It's been six years since the second Angelina Jolie-starring Tomb Raider flick hit theaters, and Warner Bros. wants to give the franchise another chance at the box office.

Details are scarce at the moment, but The Hollywood Reporter writes that the film "will reimagine the origins of the character, her love interest and the main villain" and "bear little resemblance to the [Paramount-produced] original pictures."

Ian Livingstone of Eidos, which publishes the busty action-adventure video game series, will serve as executive producer. Dan Lin of "Sherlock Holmes" will produce.

No writer or director are attached, nor is an actress that would assume the role of Lara Croft. Though rumors suggest Transformers star Megan Fox might take up the mantle, What They Play reports that Fox's spokesperson has denied her involvement.

Struggling Tomb Raider publisher Eidos has announced that it has entered into discussions that "may or may not lead to an offer being made for the Company." The potential buyer was not named, with Eidos stressing that discussions are "at a very early stage and that there can be no assurance that an offer will be forthcoming."

The overall company, which recently changed its name from SCi to that of well-known subsidiary Eidos, has long been the subject of frequent takeover rumors. Its properties include Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Carmageddon, Hitman, and Kane & Lynch.

Numerous possible buyers have been rumored across the past year, including Square Enix, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft and Warner Bros. Of the four, Warner Bros. is considered to be the most likely, as it already owns 20% of the oft-beleaguered publisher.

Eidos' long-running financial woes worsened recently, as Tomb Raider: Underworld failed to meet expectations, selling only 1.5 million units instead of the projected 2 million, prompting layoffs at Tomb Raider: Underworld developer Crystal Dynamics.

Those rumored layoffs at Tomb Raider: Underworld developer Crystal Dynamics have been confirmed by studio owner Eidos, with the company telling Joystiq that this was a result of an increased "focus on the Tomb Raider franchise at Crystal Dynamics."

Roughly 30 employees were laid off, including Tomb Raider: Underworld creative director Eric Lindstrom. It is not known if Crystal Dynamics was working on any non-Tomb Raider games--the studio is believed to be wrapping up the 360-exclusive TR:U downloadable content, and doing tentative work on the next Tomb Raider.

The layoffs came on the same day that Eidos expressed disappointment that Tomb Raider: Underworld only sold 1.5 million units, which may prompt a redesign.

That new direction could be "female-friendly," reports TimesOnline, adding that Eidos expected Tomb Raider: Underworld to sell 2 million--a milestone it missed by 500K.

"Look at how Batman changed successfully, from the rather sad... Read more

Tomb Raider: Underworld failed to meet publisher Eidos' internal projections, despite internal estimates that the game has sold 1.5 million units since its November debut.

As with many publishers in recent months, Eidos cited a "difficult North American economy" for "a lower start in North America." As a result, Eidos lowered its earning expectations for the fiscal year, from between $273-303 million to $242-273 million.

The lowered expectations may require Eidos to enter into discussions with its lending bank, the company said, along with word of passing its "peak net debt... Read more

Japanese publisher Square Enix has reportedly expressed interest in purchasing ailing British publisher Eidos, according to MCV and its anonymous source.

Square, which recently noted its intent to expand in the European and North American markets, joins the three other long-rumored suitors: Electronic Arts, Ubisoft and Warner Bros. Of the four, Warner Bros has an advantage as it already owns 20% of Eidos.

The company, which recently changed its name from SCi to that of well-known subsidiary Eidos, has long been the subject of frequent takeover rumors. Its properties include Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Carmageddon, Hitman, and Kane & Lynch.

Across the past year, Eidos has lost $177 million and its stock has dropped by 90%, making the company an even bigger acquisition target than it was when talks began last year. Eidos later rejected a buyout offer in April 2008 from an unknown suitor.

As Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider Underworld heads out to store shelves this week, publisher Eidos has tasked UK PR firm Barrington Harvey with managing the review scores, resulting in journalists being asked to hold off on negative reviews.

The story emerged after games journalist Guy Cocker reported, via Twitter, that Eidos informed him "if you're planning on reviewing Tomb Raider Underworld at less than an 8.0, we need you to hold your review till Monday."

Barrington Harvey confirmed the policy with videogaming247, explaining:

We're trying to manage the review scores at the request of Eidos.

We're trying to get the Metacritic rating to be high, and the brand manager in the US that's handling all of Tomb Raider has asked that we just manage the scores before the game is out, really, just to ensure that we don't put people off buying the game, basically.

It's the second review-related controversy for Eidos in the past year, following rumors that it pressured GameSpot into firing journalist Jeff Gerstmann for a negative review of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, which was edited following his departure.

At the time, Eidos was heavily advertising on GameSpot. The site later claimed Gerstmann was let go "purely for internal reasons" that were "unrelated to any publisher or advertiser," though it noted Eidos' displeasure with the original review.

In a formal statement, Barrington Harvey director Simon Byron admitted the firm has "been working hard to ensure the launch scores of Tomb Raider Underworld are in line with our internal review predictions over the launch weekend - but... Read more

Eidos creative director Ian Livingstone has spent many years observing the games industry in the UK, and it's not going the way he likes.

"We're still seen as the red-headed stepchild of the creative industries, one notch up from pornography in the eyes of most of the establishment," said Livingstone to The Guardian. Livingstone has joined the "Games Up?" campaign to petition the British government for a tax credit to subsidize game development.

The campaign, run in association with English industry organizations Tiga and ELSPA, is asking the British government for a 20% tax credit for game studios--a credit that France enjoys and will soon be extended to the entire European Union--but isn't too optimistic about its approval.

"They forget that half of the world and half of the UK's population play games," lamented Livingstone. "Games help define who we are as human beings--they are as important, culturally and socially, as music and films," he asserted.

The Eidos executive fears that without such a tax credit, the UK game development industry could dry up--something which he has already noticed symptoms of. "In the past six years, half of the independent UK development studios have already closed or been bought by foreign publishers who see more value in our studios and intellectual property than we do ourselves," he concluded.

SCi Entertainment, the parent company of game publisher Eidos, today announced that during its past fiscal year it lost $177 million dollars. That compares to a loss of $24 million during its 2007 fiscal year. Revenues declined to $212 million, down from $230 million in 2007.

Top selling games, contributing to a total of 7.1 million units sold, included Kane & Lynch (1.4 million units), Tomb Raider: Anniversary (1.0 million units) and Conflict Denied Ops (0.5 million units).

Despite the lower numbers, gross profit did increase ($100 million vs $97 million), as did the gross profit margin (from 42.2% to 47.2%)

During the year, the company cancelled projects and axed staff. According to CEO Phil Rogers, SCi has emerged "as a stronger business and over the next year we will see the results of our restructured and revitalised operation."

Upcoming titles from SCi's Eidos unit include Tomb Raider: Underworld, Just Cause 2, and Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Eidos Interactive parent company SCi Entertainment Group announced today that it has rejected a new offer from an undisclosed party, citing the company's "signficant short- to medium-term funding requirements."

The company noted that though the received proposal came at a significant premium to current share prices, it offered "mostly equity consideration but the third party would have assumed responsibility for [SCi's] funding requirements." The offer was also subject to conditions, including significant due diligence.

SCi recently confirmed rumors that an offer had been made, but did not reveal where the offer came from. The struggling UK-based SCi was previously rumored to be in talks with NBC Universal for a $100M investment in the company.

Recent financial hardship recently moved SCi to axe 14 upcoming projects and lay off 25% of its workforce. The group had previously entertained buyout offers from a number of companies including Midway, but cut off talks earlier this year.

Eidos parent company SCi Entertainment Group confirmed reports that it is actively considering an "open offer" for investment in the company.

The struggling UK-based SCi was rumored to be in talks with NBC Universal for a $100M investment in the company, aimed at salving financial troubles which prompted Eidos parent to axe 25% of its workforce and cancel 14 upcoming projects.

SCi failed to name interested parties in its confirmation. Should the reports of NBC Universal's investment hold true, the media conglomerate would become the majority shareholder in SCi.

The group had previously entertained buyout offers from companies such as Midway, but cut talks short earlier this year. In lieu of a corporate bail-out, the company had shifted the release dates four marquee titles—including Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider: Underworld—into the fourth quarter in the hopes of boosting holiday sales.

A number of IO Interactive co-founders have left the Eidos-owned Hitman, Freedom Fighter and Kane & Lynch developer to form a new studio under the name of Reto-Moto.

No projects have been announced, though the company noted it is "committed to redefining the online multi-player space."

Among the company's staff are Hitman director Jacob Andersen, previous IO VP David Guldbrandsen, former lead character designer Jesper Vorsholt Jorgensen, and old sound engineering lead Martin Pollas. All were co-founders of IO Interactive.

The four are joined by Neil Donnell, who served as an executive producer at Eidos Interactive.

Originally founded in 1997, Reto-Moto's first act was to create IO Interactive in a joint-venture with Nordisk Film. Publisher Eidos acquired IO in 2004.

Publisher Eidos has announced that a reimagining of Midway's classic cooperative arcade title Gauntlet is headed to the Nintendo DS this fall, courtesy of developer Backbone Entertainment.

Supporting online play and voice chat for up to four players, the game features four different character classes: Elf, Warrior, Wizard and Valkyrie. Multiplayer modes include deathmatch, team deathmactch, and treasure hoarde game types.

"With Gauntlet we've revitalised all of the action and fun of the original 1980s arcade classic, whilst updating the visuals and gameplay for today's DS gamer," said Eidos brand manager Ray Livingston. "With four-player Wi-Fi cooperative mode, one of the most memorable multiplayer gaming experiences of all time is back with a bang."

Hanna-Barbera's old animated series Wacky Races is once again being adapted into a video game, publisher Eidos has announced.

Due out on the Wii and Nintendo DS this June, Wacky Races: Crash & Dash has players competing for the title of the World's Wackiest Racer. As is typical for the genre, racers can collect items to perform "Wacky" and "Way Out Wacky" attacks.

The company promises that the game will include "all the characters and cars from the TV series," listing such examples as Peter Perfect's Turbo Terrific, the Ant Hill Mob's Bullet Proof Bomb, Penelope Pitstop, and Dick Dastardly's Mean Machine, complete with sidekick Muttley (pictured above).

Coinciding with the announcement, Eidos issued several screnshots of the Wii edition and the Nintendo DS version.

Eidos Interactive owner SCi Entertainment has announced that it will be canceling 14 projects and terminating 25% of its staff under a new effort to restructure the company.

No details were provided on the canceled titles, though the company noted they were "unlikely to generate an acceptable return on investment or are not of appropriate quality."

Going forward, SCi will focus on what it described as its "cornerstone products," including Tomb Raider, Hitman, Championship Manager and Deus Ex. Of those franchises, new Tomb Raider and Deus Ex titles are known to be in development.

Other properties held by the company include Carmageddon and Kane & Lynch: Dead Men.

In addition to cutting 25% of its staff, bringing its workforce down to 800 people, SCi will also relocate much of its production staff from London to Montreal. The ... Read more

The 2007 action strategy game Battlestations: Midway will receive a sequel, publisher Eidos announced today. Like its predecessor, Battlestations: Pacific is in development for Xbox 360 and PC.

Battlestations: Pacific contains 21 new units, and a singleplayer campaign with 28 missions covering US and Japanese operations. You'll also be able to use paradrops for offensive or defensive purposes.

"Battlestations: Pacific is even bigger, more authentic and innovative than ever before, taking the Battlestations franchise to the next level and allowing players to relive some of the most memorable battles in modern history" exclaimed Eidos brand manager Trevor Burrows.

He added, "We have been paying great attention to our loyal online community and fan base to ensure that Battlestations: Pacific delivers the most exciting, authentic and fun Battlestations experience yet!"

No release date was announced for Battlestations: Pacific.