Although Tomb Raider 3: Lara Lara Lara! is out next month development on that game is being handled by Eidos Montreal aka the Deus Ex team. With series leads Crystal Dynamics helping out but mostly hard at work on the still mysterious Avengers Project for Square Enix. Although we didn't get a glimpse at what that might be at E3, today we've got word that Crystal Dynamics is expanding with the help of a new studio.

Crystal Northwest, based in Bellevue, Washington, is apparently dedicated to the creation of new technology. Some of which is expected to be featured in the upcoming Avengers Project.

“We’re aggressively scaling up our teams and adding a new studio with spectacular talent to deliver the ultimate gaming experiences for our players,” said Scot Amos, Co-Head of Studio at Crystal Dynamics. “We have assembled a team of industry veterans and leaders in order to create gaming experiences that surpass the expectations of our passionate community.”

The new studio is led by 20-year industry veterans Chad Queen and James Loe. And in other Crystal Dynamics news, the Redwood Shores, California headquarters has also recently hired a bunch of new talent - including Vincent Napoli as Lead Combat Designer, who most recently worked on the latest God of War. Plus talent from Halo studio 343 Industries, Naughty Dog, Raven Software, and more.

“Our new studio in Bellevue, and the new hires in Redwood Shores, represent our continued commitment to the most ambitious project we’ve ever created,” said Ron Rosenberg, Co-Head of Studio at Crystal Dynamics. “We’ll keep building on the exciting growth Crystal Dynamics has experienced over the last several years, and are eager to deliver a world-class Avengers experience for fans around the world.”

So yeah, looks like whatever this Avengers game is - it's going to be pretty huge.