Eidos shares plummet as Lara isn't ready

The latest video game to feature gun-toting heroine Lara Croft will not be ready in time for Christmas, it emerged today.

Game design group Eidos confirmed the City’s worst fears today by delaying the release of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, until February.

Shares in the company tumbled nearly 9% just minutes after the announcement as investors feared a shortfall in sales over the festive period.

Eidos is also rescheduling the release of football title Championship Manager 4 – one of four blockbusters originally planned for Christmas.

The group said both titles were in the final stages of development but would “benefit from further refinement”.

This would “maximise the game play experience and their potential in a very competitive market place,” Eidos said.

Last month chief executive Michael McGarvey said the group was doing all it could to make sure its new releases would be ready on time.

Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness had been due for release next month and Eidos said it was confident the delay would not hit full-year profits.

But its shares fell 8.5p to 90p, just above its low point this year and a far cry from the £11.00 high reached at the end of 1999.

The group has been dogged in recent years by game delays, profit warnings and weak gaming titles and has slashed costs since 2000.

Results last month showed pre-tax losses were being cut back, falling 72% to £30.7m (€48.5m) in the 15 months to June 30.