Last year, Crystal Dynamic’s Tomb Raider reboot caused quite a stir. Though many details kept secret, the promise of an Uncharted like experience with a more open, puzzle centric game world, and focus on survival gameplay, had many gamers excited to explore the origins of curvaceous protagonist Lara Croft. Most figured they’d be waiting roughly until the end of 2012 (that’s this year!). Alas, everybody will have to wait a little long, as Crystal Dynamics confirm today that the reboot has slipped into 2013.

Announced over on the official Tomb Raider blog, head honcho of Crystal Dynamics, Darrell Gallagher, explained the situation, stating that the Tomb Raider project aimed to meet two goals. Firstly, to work on a “modern Tomb Raider game that would surprise and excite gamers”, and lastly to “make this the best game of our careers”. The team feels more time is required to meet this goals, and thus we have a delay.

There’s good news though. The delay isn’t too long, as Tomb Raider has been rescheduled for the first quarter of 2012, making it one of the bigger titles to bring in the new year. And, to ensure gamers get a good look at how the title is shaping up, Crystal Dynamics will have new Tomb Raider content on display at E3 2012.

Rocket Chainsaw will make sure to cover all things Tomb Raider this year, so keep your eyes peeled!