The first Tomb Raider was released in the UK on 24 October 1996, on Saturn: Lara Croft turns 30 this weekend. Crystal Dynamics, the studio that has developed the series since Tomb Raider: Legend in 2006, is marking the anniversary throughout 2026.

Tomb Raider turns 30: the story of Lara Croft and the 2026 collection

This is a chance to look back at three decades of adventures, from Core Design to the upcoming Legacy of Atlantis, and to go through what the Tomb Raider universe offers collectors for the anniversary: four Funko POP figures with the 30th anniversary logo, two anniversary edition 8BitDo controllers and the games in the series that are still available today.

1996-2003: Lara Croft is born in Derby

Tomb Raider was developed by Core Design, a studio based in Derby, England, and published by Eidos Interactive. Lara Croft was created by Toby Gard, who designed the project and was its lead artist. Sega secured a few weeks of exclusivity in Europe: the Saturn version came out first, and the PlayStation and PC versions followed in November 1996.

Eidos then released a new instalment every year: Tomb Raider II in 1997, Tomb Raider III in 1998, The Last Revelation in 1999 and Chronicles in 2000. The character moved to cinema in 2001 with Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, in which Angelina Jolie played the adventurer, then in 2003 with Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life.

2003-2008: from The Angel of Darkness to Crystal Dynamics

In 2003, The Angel of Darkness, Core Design's last game, was a critical failure. Eidos then took the series away from the Derby studio and gave it to the American studio Crystal Dynamics.

The new studio released Tomb Raider: Legend in 2006, then Tomb Raider: Anniversary in 2007, a remake of the 1996 game, and Tomb Raider: Underworld in 2008.

2013-2025: the reboot, the Survivor trilogy and the remasters

On 5 March 2013, Crystal Dynamics restarted Lara Croft's story from the beginning with Tomb Raider, a reboot of the series. Rise of the Tomb Raider in 2015 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider in 2018 completed this trilogy, known as Survivor. In cinemas, Alicia Vikander took on the role in 2018 in Tomb Raider.

In 2022, Square Enix sold Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal and Square Enix Montréal to Embracer Group for 300 million dollars, along with a catalogue of licences that included Tomb Raider.

Aspyr then re-released the Core Design games: Tomb Raider I-III Remastered on 14 February 2024, then Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered on 14 February 2025.

On Netflix, the animated series Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft arrived on 10 October 2024; its second and final season came out in December 2025. In October 2024, Crystal Dynamics announced that the series had passed 100 million games sold.

This week, Shadow of the Tomb Raider arrived on Switch 2, together with the full Survivor trilogy: this port is covered in our article on Shadow of the Tomb Raider on Switch 2.

2027 and beyond: Legacy of Atlantis and a Prime Video series

The next game, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, reimagines the 1996 adventure. Crystal Dynamics is developing it with Flying Wild Hog and Amazon Game Studios. Originally announced for 2026, it has been delayed to 12 February 2027, on PS5, Xbox Series, PC and Switch 2; its editions are presented in our article on pre-ordering Tomb Raider Legacy of Atlantis. Another game, Tomb Raider: Catalyst, is in development at Amazon Games.

Prime Video, for its part, is preparing a live-action series created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, in which Sophie Turner plays Lara Croft. Filming began in January 2026; its release date has not yet been announced.

2026, an anniversary year

Crystal Dynamics presented its plans on 28 January 2026: an official 30th anniversary artwork and collaborations with around fifteen brands, including 8BitDo, Funko, Loungefly, Dark Horse, Upper Deck and Tubbz. For the anniversary itself, Aspyr published a short official video looking back at the different eras of the series.

On 7 October, Ubisoft added a paid expansion to The Crew Motorfest, Tomb Raider: Secrets of Niʻihau, in which the player helps Lara Croft find her friend Jonah, who has gone missing on an island. On 24 October, Derby, the home of Core Design, hosted a fan day dedicated to the series. For collectibles, this overview starts with the Funko figures.

Funko POP 2026: four Lara Crofts in 30th anniversary colours

This year's four Funko figures carry the 30th anniversary logo on their box, and each one represents an era of the series.

Lara Croft in four versions (#1192, #1194, #1283 and #1284)

The Polygonal Lara Croft (#1192) recalls the 1996 3D debut: her face is cut into facets, as are her two pistols. Wearing a turquoise tank top and brown shorts, she stands about 3.9 in (9.9 cm) tall.

With #1194, Funko goes back to The Angel of Darkness: Lara wears black sunglasses, a black top and camouflage trousers, with a pistol in each hand.

Subtitled 30th Anniversary, #1283 is the only one whose box shows the 30th anniversary logo instead of the series name. Lara is caught mid-jump, a pistol in each hand, mounted on a clear stand; at about 4.2 in (10.7 cm), she is the tallest of the four.

Finally, #1284 depicts the Doppelgänger, Lara's double in Tomb Raider: Underworld: pale yellow eyes, a face speckled with dark patches and an all-black outfit. #1283 and #1284 were presented when they went up for pre-order in our article on the new Tomb Raider Funko POP figures.

Funko sells these four figures separately, and their price varies from one partner shop to another.

8BitDo controllers 2026: two 30th anniversary editions

8BitDo, one of the official anniversary partners, has designed two Tomb Raider controllers, each supplied with its charging dock.

8BitDo Pro 3, Tomb Raider 30th Anniversary Edition

The Pro 3 is inspired by The Lost Valley, the level in the first game where Lara faces a tyrannosaurus in Peru. Its ochre shell is covered with green foliage, and its magnetic ABXY buttons, decorated with Atlantean symbols, can be swapped to switch between a Switch layout and an Xbox layout. It works with Switch 1 and 2, Windows, SteamOS, Android and Apple devices.

The box also contains a tool for removing the buttons, two themed thumbstick caps and two dome caps.

8BitDo Ultimate 3 for Xbox, Tomb Raider 30th Edition

The Ultimate 3 is officially licensed by Xbox. Its gold shell is engraved with several silhouettes of Lara Croft, including one firing a bow, and the number 30 decorates its wireless charging dock. Its D-pad is made of gold-plated zinc alloy.

It connects to an Xbox or a Windows PC wirelessly or by USB, and to Apple and Android devices via Bluetooth.

Tomb Raider video games

Much of the series can still be played on current consoles. Aspyr's Remastered collections bring together Core Design's first six instalments, in two volumes or in an I-VI edition, and the Survivor trilogy is available as a boxed edition on PS4 and Xbox One. The following selection ranks the games in the series by popularity, across all eras.