Tomb Raider moves over 4M, Square to develop more persistent online games

Darrell Gallagher, Square Enix’s newly appointed head of studios in North America and Europe, has said the firm will change the way it approaches games development by creating more persistent online games. Oh - and Tomb Raider has sold over 4 million copies worldwide since its March release.

Speaking in a blog post on Gamasutra, the Crystal Dynamics head stated that games such as Sleeping Dogs and Just Cause 2's continued popularity have contributed to this new found development idea.

"We see the opportunity for some of our games continuing beyond a traditional beginning, middle, and end," Gallagher said. "We can have them become extendable and more persistent - with an opportunity to build and grow across games. To design in a way to keep our games alive for years instead of weeks.

"I'm not talking about an MMORPG - although the concept is similar - I'm talking about creating persistent online experiences built on the foundations of the games we are well known for.

"Now, this doesn't apply to every game, there is no one solution that works in every case, but as a wider goal it's certainly something which some of our franchises are incredibly well suited to and something I want to explore further."

Gallagher mentioned Sleeping Dogs has since become a profitable title for the company, after launching to lower-than-expected sales last year. This is due to continued engagement from the player base, which has over 500,000 monthly players.

Just Cause 2, which is over three years, also continues to boast over half a million monthly players.

Meanwhile, Tomb Raider has sold over 4 million units since its release in March, making it the fastest-selling game in the franchise's history.

The next-gen sequel to the title is already "well into development," the firm said earlier this month.

Thanks, GI International.