Livingstone: Kane & Lynch 2 aimed for Sept., more Hitman, Tomb Raider en route

by Ben Gilbert { May 11th 2009 at 11:00AM }

In Mumbai for the Golden Cursor Animation Awards, recently appointed Eidos "life president" Ian Livingstone sat down with the folks at GamingIndians and spilled a full bag of beans. Unsurprisingly, he says the Square Enix acquisition was "a great deal in many ways" and that the various Eidos development studios would remain largely independent. "It's great news for the brand and for the people," he says.

And also, apparently, great for sequels, as Livingstone confirms work on the next Hitman game, a sequel to Kane & Lynch currently targeted for a September release date and -- big shock! -- a re-imagining of Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider series. "The next Tomb Raider, I think, will surprise a lot of people and reinvigorate the franchise," Livingstone notes, stressing the relevance of game characters in mainstream media these days. Incidentally, he more than intimates that Eidos Montreal is working on Thief 4, though now we know that to be a fact -- the "worst kept secret in the industry," in fact.

Tags: crystal-dynamics, deus-ex, eidos, eidos-montreal, hitman, ian-livingstone, io-interactive, kane-and-lynch, kane-and-lynch-2, square-enix, tomb-raider

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

kanweil @ May 11th 2009 11:05AM

Where's Legacy of Kain?!? Seriously, let Crystal D make that instead of another Tomb Raider game.

Freeze @ May 11th 2009 11:29AM

yeah where the heck is Legacy of Kain?! Screw Tomb Raider. Give that chick a break.

Lennoko @ May 11th 2009 11:08AM

Id raid her tomb... :D

MystileArmor @ May 11th 2009 12:27PM

How long did it take you to come up with that one?

Also, I'm gonna go out on a limb here, but judging from your creativity, I have a feeling;
1) Never in a million years
2) You'd shit your pants if she'd even smile in your general direction
3) We'll have Duke Nukem Forever 5 before you can even get a dog to hump your leg.

But that's just my guess. I guess I've made my daily quota of being an asshole.

THE WICKER MAN (BWF) (GT: Dalek Prime) @ May 11th 2009 2:38PM

*fwap* *fwap* @ womb raider lolz

MystileArmor @ May 11th 2009 4:04PM

I guess I offended everyone that thought they had a chance with the Lara Croft models?

Lennoko @ May 11th 2009 4:42PM

Your assumptions amuse me, and it did take me a whole 2 seconds to come up with! Glad yeah noticed!

MystileArmor @ May 11th 2009 4:49PM

Maybe not creative, but you've got a sense of humor.

Lennoko @ May 11th 2009 4:52PM

Thanks, I try.

PoonDaddy @ May 11th 2009 11:10AM

Man, who cares if that's not Ian Livingstone? YOU GO FOR IT DUDE!!!

Brendan H @ May 11th 2009 5:45PM

Actually, the man in the pic is Ian Livingstone; the woman is not, which is what the text in the image is trying to clear up.
Anyway, is he motioning to keep her away from hugging him, or his he going in for a boob squeeze?
Only one answer makers sense...

Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ May 11th 2009 11:08AM

September?? Nice...as long as it still has split=screen like the first Kane and Lynch I'm all for it...

Storm Eagle @ May 11th 2009 11:10AM

That Lara Croft is so freakin hot. I think Tomb Raider would be a more rewarding experience if I could just watch her play the game. Oh, and as far as releases go; Bring on the new Hitman and the new Deus Ex. I have a tweaked interest for Thi4f, but i wanna see some gameplay first.

Avatar @ May 11th 2009 11:45AM

I almost had an aneurysm trying to pronounce thi4f out loud.

Storm Eagle @ May 11th 2009 11:11AM

And just on a sidenote to that picture, it TOTALLY looks like that dude is going in for the chest grab!

Zerokku @ May 11th 2009 11:13AM

Couldn't blame him if he was.

Brendan H @ May 11th 2009 5:47PM

My thoughts exactly. I replied to another comment above before I saw you had the same idea.

Obie @ May 11th 2009 11:13AM

I miss Karima Adebibe , she was more interesting han the current Lara Croft model.

Marty @ May 11th 2009 11:23AM

That's the most cordial hostage situation I think I've ever seen.

The Baron @ May 11th 2009 11:23AM

Looks like the Squenix deal has given Eidos a second wind. I can't wait for Thief 4.

Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ May 11th 2009 11:24AM

Everytime a K&L game is released a fat man is fired,please stop firing fat people Eidos.

Damian @ May 11th 2009 11:59AM

Gamespot is about to lose another employee.

Drew -- PS360: uphillbothways @ May 11th 2009 12:02PM

It was just a coincidence that time.

Markez @ May 11th 2009 11:43AM

I may be one of the few, but I'm pretty surprised/excited by the news of Kane & Lynch 2. I really liked the first game. Understand some of the criticism, but overall thought the narrative & pacing was done extremely well.

Avada Kadavra 9 @ May 11th 2009 1:16PM

The next Tomb Raider I buy better come with a clone of the "Not Ian Livingstone" pictured above, hot.

Shagittarius @ May 11th 2009 1:32PM

Is he the same Ian Livingstone that wrote all those great Combat choose your own adventure books in the mid 80's?

I use to love those things.

Dirty @ May 11th 2009 2:56PM

It appears to be so....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Livingstone

j.howlett @ May 11th 2009 1:59PM

i would like a new blood omen game. i also think they missed out on the opportunity to use lara croft in adventure games besides tomb raider. the first game said starring lara croft, they could have easily changed the name and type of adventure she starred in.

dantebk @ May 11th 2009 2:37PM

I have a neat idea for how they can "reinvigorate" the Tomb Raider series

Step 1: Buy a copy of Uncharted
Step 2: Steal from it heavily (i.e. functional combat, unique collectables, somewhat more rational story)
Step 3: No really, that's it

Mischa @ May 11th 2009 3:55PM

DUDE, YOU DON'T KNOW WHO LARA CROFT IS?!?!?!

TreyIM @ May 11th 2009 4:13PM

I didn't play the K&L full version because the demo held me back. It seemed like an interesting game but it was too stuck in the past with the controls, animations and graphics, imo. I was disappointed, basically, but my boy bought the game and really liked it so I was considering at least renting it, way back, but it would never be in stock at Blockbuster so I just forgot about it after a while.I am interested in what they have in store for the next one, though, as I felt that K&L was a first gen, next gen game, get what I'm saying? They should have more of a better grip on both the PS3 and 360, this go round, and may be I will finally grab the original K&L to get the full story.
As for Tomb Raider - I am interested in that one, too. I liked the last one enough to play all the way through it while renting it. I thought I was tired of Lara and her world but I guess I was just waiting for improvements which I did get but still need a bit more. I had little complaints about that one.