Tomb Raider

An action-adventure video game franchise centering on the archaeologist Lara Croft, originally created by Core Design in 1996.

Action

48

Games

1996–2018

Years

28

Platforms

$12.93

Ø CIB

+1.5%

24M change

About

The Tomb Raider series began in 1996 with the release of the self-titled game for platforms including the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, and MS-DOS. Players control Lara Croft as she explores ancient ruins, solves environmental puzzles, and fights enemies to recover lost artifacts. The franchise has grown to include numerous sequels, reboots, and multimedia adaptations.

British development studio Core Design created the initial entries under publisher Eidos Interactive. Following the success of the original 1996 release, annual sequels including Tomb Raider II (1997) and Tomb Raider III (1998) introduced vehicles, expanded arsenals, and larger, non-linear levels.

After the critical disappointment of Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness in 2003, Eidos transferred development duties to Crystal Dynamics. This studio revitalized the franchise with a trilogy consisting of Tomb Raider: Legend (2006), Tomb Raider: Anniversary (2007)—a remake of the original game—and Tomb Raider: Underworld (2008).

In 2013, a second major reboot initiated the "Survivor" trilogy, which focused on survival mechanics and an origin story. This era concluded with Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015) and Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018). Square Enix acquired the franchise in 2009, later selling the intellectual property to Embracer Group in 2022. The series is widely credited with pioneering third-person 3D navigation and camera control, significantly influencing the action-adventure genre.