Tomb Raider Devs Aren’t Trying To Appeal To “Either Side” Of Culture War Surrounding Lara’s Design

The new look for Lara Croft--seen in the upcoming remake Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis--has gotten the internet talking, and arguing. But according to the game's development team, it wasn't attempting to appeal to any specific audience with her design. Speaking to GameSpot at Summer Game Fest, game director Raul Siqueira and experience director Jeff Adams said the process for designing Lara was a lot more organic, and the team wasn't trying to necessarily balance her attractiveness with talent or ability. We try not to view it from either of those angles, Adams said. We're not trying to make one camp happy and the other camp miserable. We don't think of it that way. We're just like, 'Hey, this is Lara. This is who she is and this is the icon that we've come to know. How do we bring her into the most fully focused version that she's ever been presented in?' She's Lara. She is the icon for a reason. So we just want to do justice to her. Siqueria added that the character's personality plays a key role in her truly being Lara Croft, as well. The confidence, the wittiness ... the personality that she has is so important for us [and we're] making sure that we are doing that right. That's why we all love Alix [Wilton Regan] so much--she just nails it. Crystal Dynamics' latest Tomb Raider game, a remake of the original, comes following the Survivor trilogy, which radically reinvented the series with a grittier story, more violent gameplay, and a new look for Lara. In those games, she was played by actor Camilla Luddington. Meanwhile, a Tomb Raider series is also in the works for Prime Video, and stars Game of Thrones alumna Sophie Turner. Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis releases in 2027 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC.