Tomb Raider Will Forego Downloadable Demo

According to the folks at Joystiq, the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot won't include a pre-release demo for people to play before the game's early March release date. The pre-launch demo has become a staple for many game companies, while certain blockbuster games (think Halo, Call of Duty) take it as a bade of honor to not release one. The implication being a surefire hit game doesn't "need" to entice people with a sample in order to get their dollars. Nonetheless with tightly controlled press access to Tomb Raider and the inherent gamble that comes with rebooting a well established franchise, no downloadable demo of a short playable bit is surprising.

"For all those @tombraider fans asking. There are no plans to release a demo of the game pre-launch. We don't want to spoil the story," tweeted Global Brand Director Karl Stewart. "We've weaved such an personal story we don't believe spoiling it by having you wait a week or so to play on, delivers on our promise."

The work it would take to carve out a little something playable is usually paid off by the boost in interest for a game, especially one going up against such a powerful first quarter lineup in early 2013. This doesn't mean Square Enix won't run back the gameplan they had for Sleeping Dogs. The demo for that open world action game dropped a week and a half after the full game hit stores.