Eidos Montreal has suggested that Shadow of the Tomb Raider cost between $75 and $100 million to produce.

In conversation with GamesIndustry.biz, Eidos Montreal studio head David Anfossi revealed that production of the upcoming title cost upwards of $75 million. This claim was revealed incidentally as part of a discussion of the viability of single-player narrative games.

"Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and other different triple-A single-player games, cost $75 million to $100 million," Anfossi said. "And that's production only; it's close to $35 million on the promotion.”

The traditional model of high-budget, lengthy singleplayer releases hasn’t been working out well for both Eidos Montreal and publisher Square Enix. Eidos’ previous title, Deus Ex Mankind Divided, underperformed to the point of putting the franchise “on hiatus”.

Square Enix infamously considering the Crystal Dynamics 2013 reboot a failure despite 3.4 million sales in its first month. That title, like Shadow of the Tomb Raider, also had a budget approaching $100 million.

With solo experiences becoming more costly than ever to produce, and online gaming becoming ever more lucrative, Anfossi was questioned on Eidos’ future in the space.

“We need to try new things, experience stuff and learn," Anfossi said. "We want to build strong online technology. We are doing tests, we are learning, and we are working out how to apply that to our games, but we have to be careful about the fans. Online does not have to mean multiplayer. It could, but it could also be something different. It can be a single-player experience but online.”

Shadow of the Tomb Raider launches September 14th 2018.