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, then by Square Enix Europe after Square Enix’s acquisition of Eidos in 2009, the franchise focuses on fictional British archaeologist Lara Croft, who travels around the world searching for lost artefacts and infiltrating dangerous tombs and ruins. Gameplay generally focuses on exploration of environments, solving puzzles, navigating hostile environments filled with traps, and fighting enemies. Additional media has been developed for the franchise in the form of film adaptations, comics and novels.
Development of the original Tomb Raider game began in 1994; it was released two years later. Its critical and commercial success prompted Core Design to develop a new game annually for the next four years, which put a strain on staff. The sixth game, The Angel of Darkness, faced difficulties during development and was considered a failure at release. This prompted Eidos to switch development duties to Crystal Dynamics, which has been the series’ primary developer since. Other developers have contributed to spin-off titles and ports of mainline entries.
Tomb Raider games have sold over 85 million copies worldwide by 2021. The series has generally been met with critical acclaim, and is noted as one of the pioneers of the action-adventure genre. Lara Croft has become one of the most recognisable video game protagonists, winning accolades and earning places on the Walk of Game and Guinness World Records. Alongside being praised for pioneering female characters in video games, she has been the subject of controversy due to her sx appeal being used for marketing.
