Tomb Raider returning in 2010?

Following the unlikely news that a street has been named after Lara Croft in Derby, it seems that the fictional English aristocrat could back to doing what she does best this year - namely raiding tombs, fighting wolves, and dangling from ledges.

GameTrailers host Geoff Keighley has hinted via his Twitter account that a Tomb Raider reboot could be confirmed as early as next week.

"I've heard rumblings of a new Lara Croft project that's gonna be at GDC," Keighley enthusiastically informed the Twitterverse.

There’s certainly ample evidence to suggest a game is coming: the studio currently in control of Lara’s escapades is Crystal Dynamics and it has revealed to gaming site Gamasutra that two titles are currently in development.

With Tomb Raider being one of the company’s crown jewels, it’s not unreasonable to assume that it’s one of the pair, and after Square Enix’s recent acquisition of publisher Eidos, you’d expect the Japanese firm to want a new Lara title on shelves as soon as possible in order to recoup some of that investment.

Perhaps most exciting are the rumours that the series is going to shift focus, with more attention being paid to scaring the player. Sounds like someone at Crystal Dynamics has been playing EA’s Dead Space a little too much, if you ask us.

With GDC just around the corner, big announcements are naturally going to be forthcoming and at this juncture we’d be willing to bet the house on a new Tomb Raider title in 2010.