Lara Croft is one of the most famous video game heroines of all time, andTomb Raiderone of the best-selling video game series, having sold 58 million copies worldwide. The video game series has certainly had its up’s and down’s, but is still going strong with the release of the 12th officialTomb Raidergame,Shadow of the Tomb Raider,in September of this year. The game has also had various spin-offs, such asLara Croft and the Temple of OsirisandLara Croft GO, for example. Still, up until today, 22 years after the release of the firstTomb Raidergame in 1996, Lara Croft remains one of gaming’s favorite heroines. Before we get to see the fullShadow of the Tomb Raiderrevealthis Friday, here is a brief history of where Lara Croft has come from, where she is now, and what we can expect from her in the future.
In 1996, Toby Gard created what would become one of the most popular female characters in gaming, and one of the first of her kind, Laura Cruz. Laura Cruz, who was initially a South American character, had her name changed to Lara Croft to be more “UK friendly” and reflect a British origin. Toby Gard created Lara Croft to confront negative stereotypes of female gaming characters, who were either been portrayed as damsels-in-distress, old ladies, or evil seductresses. Toby Gard comments: “Lara was designed to be a tough, self-reliant intelligent woman. She confounds all the sexist cliches apart from the fact that she’s got an unbelievable figure”.
In 2003, with the release ofTomb Raider:Angel of Darkness, the series went through a serious dip, as many fans and critics disliked the way thatAngel of Darknesswas so vastly different from previousTomb Raidergames. After the release ofAngel of Darkness, there was no sight of aTomb Raidergame for 3 years, until Crystal Dynamics took over in 2006 and “saved” Lara with the release ofTomb Raider Legend. This marked the beginning of what some would feel was Lara Croft’s golden age, with classics such asTomb Raider:AnniversaryandTomb Raider: Underworldreleased one year after another.
AfterTomb Raider: Underworldwasreleased in 2008, there was no indication of a newTomb Raidergame for about 5 years. Finally, in 2013, Square Enix took over publishing duties for theTomb Raiderfranchise and Crystal Dynamics rebootedTomb Raiderto create a Lara Croft that was entirely different. For the first time, Lara Croft was given a concrete origin story and it was written by a female writer,Rihanna Pratchett. In the 2013Tomb Raiderreboot, Lara’s looks have also changed, Lara is vulnerable and scared, and Lara even seems to have developed some sense of moral responsibility.
In theTomb Raiderreboot, Lara Croft’s weapons also change from her iconic twin pistols to abow and arrows, a pick-axe, one pistol, and a machine gun, and Lara’s outfits are more tactical than cosmetic. Fans seemed to enjoy this Lara Croft a lot and so in 2015, Square Enix released the follow-up to Lara Croft’s origin story,Rise of the Tomb Raider,which shows Croft’s growth after her terrible ordeal on Yamatai in the 2013 reboot. Finally, in 2018, Square Enix will release anotherTomb Raidergame calledShadow of the Tomb Raiderand it is said to be “Lara Croft’s defining moment as she becomes the Tomb Raider.”
We only know a few things aboutShadow of the Tomb Raiderthough. A teaser image fromShadow of the Tomb Raiderrevealed that Lara Croft might have a knife as an additional weapon in the new game and theteaser traileralso showed hints of new locations that Lara will visit. The full trailer reveal ofShadow of the Tomb Raiderwill take place this week (Friday on April 27th) and the game will be released on September 14th, according to Square Enix. Fans are excited to see which locations Lara will visit inShadow of the Tomb Raiderand how this game will show how she finally turns into the Lara Croft that they have known and loved all these years.
Shadow of the Tomb Raiderreleases July 07, 2025 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
