Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider made Lara Croft one of the first true icons born inside a video game, and the franchise has spent nearly three decades reinventing her. The Core Design originals were about isolation and spatial puzzle-solving, vast silent tombs that rewarded patience. Crystal Dynamics later rebooted her twice: first in the Legend trilogy, then in the grittier Survivor games that recast Lara as a wounded, resourceful young woman clawing her way toward becoming a legend.

This is a genuinely cross-media empire. The Angelina Jolie films made Lara a multiplex fixture, the 2018 movie rebooted her again alongside the games, and the animated Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft continued the story on television. Add the puzzle-focused Lara Croft spin-offs and you have one of the few characters equally at home in a tomb, a theater, and a phone.

The Tomb Raider franchise spans 1 series, 20 games, 3 films in the CrossBinge catalog.