Crystal Dynamics has responded to reports regarding an attempted rape scene in their Tomb Raider reboot.

The game's producer, Ron Rosenberg, had apparently misspoken when discussing a scene that depicts Lara being raped; he had said:

"And then what happens is her best friend gets kidnapped, she gets taken prisoner by scavengers on the island. They try to rape her, and- She's literally turned into a cornered animal. And that's a huge step in her evolution - she's either forced to fight back or die and that's what we're showing today."

However, the developer has now released a statement denying the inclusion of sexual assault, with studio head Darrell Gallagher saying:

"We had a great E3 with Tomb Raider and received a fantastic public and press response, with the game picking up numerous game of the show awards based on the new direction taken with the franchise. Unfortunately we were not clear in a recent E3 press interview and things have been misunderstood. Before this gets out of hand, let me explain.

"We were not clear in a recent E3 press interview and things have been misunderstood. Sexual assault of any kind is categorically not a theme that we cover in this game. One of the character-defining moments for Lara in the game, which has been incorrectly referred to as an 'attempted rape scene', is the content we showed at this year's E3 and which over a million people have now seen in our recent trailer entitled 'Crossroads'. This is where Lara is forced to kill another human being for the first time. In this particular section, while there is a threatening undertone in the sequence and surrounding drama, it never goes any further than the scenes that we have already shown publicly. Sexual assault of any kind is categorically not a theme we cover in this game.

"We take great care and price in our work and are focused on creating a release that will deliver meaningful storytelling, drama, and exciting gameplay. We're sorry this has not been better explained, we'll certainly be more careful with what is said in the future."

Tomb Raider is due for a worldwide release on March 5, 2013. The scene in question, meanwhile, can be viewed below at the 2 minute 18 second mark. We share our impressions of the uncensored version during our E3 preview.

"Crossroads" E3 2012 trailer - YouTube