Mobile Gaming News: Developer Releases Free ‘Shard of Life’ Expansion Pack for ‘Lara Croft Go’ on Android and iOS Devices

Lara Croft Go

Development studio Square Enix will release a free expansion pack for its mobile game hit "Lara Croft Go."

The new content, titled "The Shard of Life," will be officially available on Thanksgiving Day, according to Gamespot.

The expansion pack for the mobile game comes with 26 new levels that players have to go through and complete. Like the original game, "The Shard of Life" also features new puzzles that gamers must solve in order to find the titular relic.

Aside from the levels, the expansion pack also comes with new costumes, gemstones, artifacts, enemies and monsters. "The Shard of Life" will be released for free for the iOS and Android versions of "Lara Croft Go."

As of the arrival of a new expansion pack for the addictive mobile game is not good enough, Square Enix is also slashing the price of "Lara Croft Go" by 40 percent. The game, which can be purchased through the App Store, Windows Marketplace and Google Play, will be priced at only $2.99 on Thanksgiving Day. It is not clear when the sale will end but various sources noted that it will only run for a limited time, according to Engadget.

In addition, Square Enix launched a special Twitch gaming event this week. Through video streams, players from different parts of the world worked together to complete the original "Lara Croft Go." The same event will also feature "The Shard of Life" once it debuts.

"Lara Croft Go" is Square Enix's latest success in the mobile gaming market. It perfectly shows how the game publisher is able to take advantage of its existing IPs to create new titles for an emerging platform.

Aside from the "Tomb Raider" franchise, the company was able to successfully market other mobile games based on "Hitman," "Final Fantasy" and "Dragon Quest." In fact, the company is currently getting ready to release three new "Final Fantasy" titles for mobile devices in 2016.

"Lara Croft Go" first came out for the Android, iOS, and Windows and Windows Phone platforms in August of this year. Like Square Enix's other titles, such as "Hitman Go," "Lara Croft Go" uses a turn-based gameplay system. This means after players complete a certain move or action using the device's touchscreen controls, the enemies in the game will then take a turn and make their own moves.

In addition to taking computer-controlled opponents, "Lara Croft Go" also heavily features different types of puzzles that players must solve.