Tomb Raider and Hitman delayed as SCi continues to restructure Eidos

Tomb Raider: Legend and Hitman: Blood Money have both slipped to early 2006, SCi Entertainment Group has confirmed, with the titles being pushed back in order to "maximise their hit potential".

The slippage was confirmed to UK trade magazine MCV by a company spokesperson, and is the first to be announced since SCi acquired Eidos in mid-May.

However, it won't come as much of a surprise to many, since SCi has made it clear from the outset of its buyout bid that it planned to give additional development time to certain key titles in order to ensure that their quality was kept high.

While Hitman remains with its original creators, the wholly owned IO Interactive, the Tomb Raider franchise was moved away from creators Core Design after the last game, the critically panned Angel of Darkness, and was handed over to US studio Crystal Dynamics.

Analysts have been largely positive about the prospects for SCi following the Eidos acquisition, with UK firm Clear Capital last week publishing a report that gave the merged company a strong thumbs up.

"With the acquisition of Eidos, SCi becomes a global player in video games publishing," the report noted. "SCi's strengths in efficiently managing the game development process and an efficient cost structure superimposed on Eidos' strong brand portfolio and global distribution network in an increasingly attractive market makes us believe this acquisition will succeed."