“Tomb Raider,” also known as “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” between 2001 and 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series created by British gaming company Core Design. Formerly owned by Eidos Interactive and later by Square Enix Europe after Square Enix acquired Eidos in 2009, the franchise focuses on the fictional British archaeologist Lara Croft, who travels around the world searching for lost artifacts and infiltrating dangerous tombs and ruins. Gameplay generally emphasizes exploring environments, solving puzzles, navigating hostile areas filled with traps, and fighting enemies. The franchise has expanded into film adaptations, comics, and novels.
The development of the original “Tomb Raider” game began in 1994 and was released two years later. Its critical and commercial success led Core Design to release a new game annually for the next four years, which put a strain on the staff. The sixth game, “The Angel of Darkness,” faced development difficulties and was considered a failure upon release, prompting Eidos to transfer development duties to Crystal Dynamics, the series’ primary developer since then. Other developers have contributed to spin-off titles and ports of mainline entries.
By 2021, “Tomb Raider” games had sold over 85 million copies worldwide. The series has generally received critical acclaim and is noted as a pioneer of the action-adventure genre. Lara Croft has become one of the most recognizable video game protagonists, winning numerous accolades and earning places on the Walk of Game and in Guinness World Records. While she has been praised for pioneering female characters in video games, she has also been the subject of controversy due to her sex appeal being used for marketing.