Tomb Raider Remastered development was led by a fan modder

destructoid.com:

I’m highly skeptical of remasters and remakes. They tend to either feel underwhelming or, worse, to actually do a competent job that ends up replacing the beautiful memories we had of the original. I didn’t have either problem with the new Tomb Raider Remastered.

Originally, I thought that was just because the game gave me the chance to pick between a respectfully improved version of the old, and a beautiful new vision for the classic, but there was more to it than just that. Now I have the full picture.

It turns out that the remaster had long-time fan Xproger at the helm, the person responsible for OpenLara, a multiplatform open-source engine of the OG games. Instead of sending this Xproger a cease-and-desist letter, Saber—the owner of Aspyr, the company behind the remaster—decided to just enlist XProger to get this thing running.

For those who are still interested in the fate of OpenLara and my other projects, they are on hold. For the past year I've been busy with a dream project that has become the culmination of the last 8 years of my life – Tomb Raider I-III Remastered. (1/4)

Moreover, XProger thanks Saber not just for getting hired, but also for getting the freedom to assemble a dream team to make the project in the way that they wanted.

From the beginning, we had complete freedom and set ourselves an impossible goal, which could only be approached by a small “Development Team” of crazy people, ready to work 24/7 next year with an absolute vision of what and for whom we are doing. (3/4)

I’m usually on the fence when it comes to giving fans the reins when it comes to helming pre-existing series. I’m always afraid that it will lead to a seemingly safe repetition instead of a bold new vision that is actually what a series needs to stay alive and relevant. Luckily, I was wrong about Sonic Mania, about Black Mesa, and I was wrong here. This was the way to go from the get-go.

In my first impressions piece, I commend the addition of a bunch of windows here and