Tomb Raider, also known as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider between 2001 and 2008, is a multimedia franchise that originated as a series of action-adventure video games created by British game 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 fictional British archaeologist Lara Croft, who travels the world in search of lost artifacts and infiltrates dangerous tombs.d ruins. Gameplay generally focuses on exploring 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, comic books, and novels.

Development of the original Tomb Raider game began in 1994 and was released two years later. Its critical and commercial success prompted Core Design to develop a new game every year for the next four years, which put a strain on the staff. The sixth game, The Angel of Darkness, struggled during development and was considered a failure upon release. This prompted Eidos to hand over development duties to Crystal Dynamics, who have been the series’ primary developer ever since. Other developers have contributed spin-off titles and ports of mainline entries.

The Tomb Raider games have sold over 85 million copies worldwide as of 2021. The series has received widespread critical acclaim and is considered one of the pioneers of the action-adventure genre. Lara Croft has become one of the most recognizable female video game protagonists, earning accolades and spots on the Walk of Games and Guinness World Records. In addition to being hailed for pioneering female characters in video games, she has been the subject of controversy due to her sex appeal being used for marketing purposes.