All Tomb Raider Games in Order: Every Game, Movie and the Series Timeline

Even people who have never touched a controller know Lara Croft: dual pistols, a braid, an ancient temple collapsing behind her. In almost 30 years the series has told three different versions of her story, spawned movies with two different actresses, a Netflix animated series and a whole queue of upcoming games. It is easy to lose track of what to play and watch, and in what order. Below is the full breakdown: every Tomb Raider game by year, the three big eras of the series, the spin-offs, the remasters, the movies and a clear answer to the "where do I start" question.

Tomb Raider comes with a twist most series don't have. Usually release order and story chronology either match or drift apart by a prequel or two. Here Lara's story has been retold from scratch twice, so the series has three distinct eras — each with its own version of the heroine and her own past:

Within the classic era and the Survivor trilogy the story runs in release order. The Legend era has one exception: Anniversary is a remake of the very first game, so in story terms it comes before Legend even though it launched a year later. And the newest games have started tying the eras together: the studio now frames the Survivor trilogy as Lara's origin, while the upcoming Catalyst continues the Legend line — set years after Underworld. Here is the full release order of the main games:

It all began at the British studio Core Design. This is where the angular yet endlessly charismatic Lara was born, along with the tank controls, grid-based platforming and demanding puzzles the series was loved for. Six games from this era are tied into one story, and it ends abruptly — on a failed experiment, after which the franchise changed hands.

This is where the legend started. In Tomb Raider Lara hunts for the ancient Scion artifact, exploring tombs across Peru, Greece and Egypt. No companions and no hand-holding — just acrobatics, leaps over chasms and logic puzzles in vast, empty halls. For 1996 it was a breakthrough: a 3D adventure with a strong heroine in the lead, something the industry had not seen before.

The sequel arrived just a year later and was bigger in every way. Tomb Raider 2 sends Lara after the Dagger of Xian — from snowy Tibet to sunken ships and the canals of Venice. There were noticeably more gunfights and human enemies now, and the heroine gained her iconic mansion, where you can train before heading out into the field.

The third game is famous for how brutal it is: levels got longer, traps nastier and route choice more open. Tomb Raider 3 drives Lara around the globe, from the jungles of India to Antarctica, chasing meteorite artifacts. Many fans still consider it the hardest game of the classic era.

The fourth game takes place entirely in Egypt and tells a far more cohesive story: after a prologue featuring a teenage Lara, the adult heroine accidentally awakens the god Set and spends the rest of the game trying to undo it. Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation ends on a bold note for the series — the heroine is buried in a collapsing tomb, and Core Design seemed to say goodbye to her for good.

After Lara's "death," her friends recall her past adventures — that is how Tomb Raider Chronicles is built. It is a collection of four separate stories: Rome, a submarine, the skyscraper of a high-tech corporation and the heroine's youth. The game is more intimate than the rest, but it showed new sides of Lara, including her very early years.

An ambitious attempt to relaunch the series on a new console generation. Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness added stealth elements, dialogue and a dark detective plot with Lara accused of murder. A whole trilogy was planned, but the game shipped unfinished and the plans were scrapped. It was right after this failure that the American studio Crystal Dynamics took over — and Lara's second life began.

Once it took over the series, Crystal Dynamics didn't continue the classics but gently rebooted them. The controls became smoother, Lara more human, and the three games of this era formed a tidy trilogy about the search for her mother and the legendary island of Avalon. In story terms it is a separate universe, unconnected to the Core Design games.

A clean start for the heroine. Tomb Raider: Legend introduces a revamped Lara who follows the trail of a mysterious artifact while untangling the disappearance of her own mother. The game was far more cinematic than its predecessors: staged set pieces, chases and the familiar tech-support sidekick on the radio. After it, the series firmly won back its popularity.

A full remake of the very first game, released for the series' tenth anniversary. Tomb Raider: Anniversary retells the hunt for the Scion, but now on the Legend engine — with smooth acrobatics and reworked puzzles. It is a great way to experience the story of the 1996 original without wrestling with the archaic controls of the time.

The finale of the Crystal Dynamics trilogy. Tomb Raider: Underworld concludes Lara’s search for her mother, weaving Arthurian legends of Avalon together with Norse mythology as she travels to Thailand, Mexico, and icy caves. Locations grew larger and more beautiful, and the heroine gained more freedom of movement. With that the Legend era ended, and the series took another break before its next big reboot.

In 2013 Crystal Dynamics took a radical step — it rebooted the series from scratch and showed a very young, still inexperienced Lara. The three games of this trilogy tell her origin: from a terrified student who kills for the first time to a confident adventurer. This is the most modern era and the most newcomer-friendly.

The reboot that started the modern Lara. Tomb Raider strands the heroine on the lost island of Yamatai off the coast of Japan, where she has to survive, hunt and take up arms for the first time in earnest. The story of how a character breaks and hardens turned out to be stronger than many expected. We covered it in more detail in our Tomb Raider (2013) review.

The second chapter sends Lara to snowy Siberia in search of the legendary city of Kitezh and the secret of immortality. Rise of the Tomb Raider noticeably expanded exploration: more optional tombs, crafting and open spaces. Lara is more confident here, but still chasing her father's legacy.

The finale of Lara's origin. Shadow of the Tomb Raider moves the action to the jungles of Latin America, where Lara carelessly triggers a Maya apocalypse and has to stop it. This entry puts the most emphasis on tombs and underwater exploration, and Lara finally becomes the tomb raider we know.

Beyond the main line, the series has side projects — with a different camera, mechanics and genre. They are not required to follow the story, but some of them are genuinely great.

A standalone handheld adventure rather than a port. Tomb Raider on Game Boy Color moves the signature jumps and puzzles to a side view and proves Lara works even in two dimensions.

A direct sequel to the handheld debut. Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword sends Lara to New York after a cursed artifact and adds new traps and enemies to the formula.

The last handheld adventure of the classic era. Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Prophecy brings the series to Game Boy Advance with an isometric view and a focus on artifact puzzles.

The first major experiment with a top-down isometric view. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light leans on co-op: teaming up with the ancient warrior Totec, players solve physics puzzles and fend off swarms of enemies. Fast, light and nothing like the main series — a pleasant break between the big adventures.

The series' strangest experiment. Lara Croft: Reflections is a small card game that launched quietly and almost unnoticed; today it is mostly of interest to collectors and franchise historians.

A direct evolution of the Guardian of Light ideas. Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris moves the action to Egypt and lets four people play at once. The puzzles got trickier and the co-op chaos more fun. In spirit it is still an arcade for a group rather than a solo story adventure.

A mobile endless runner. Lara Croft: Relic Run sends the heroine sprinting through ruins and jungles with obstacles, shooting and vehicle chases — an optional but brisk arcade fix for phones.

An elegant mobile puzzler that turns Lara's adventures into an unhurried turn-based puzzle. Lara Croft GO takes the familiar traps, ledges and ancient ruins and presents them in a stylish, minimalist wrapper. A great example of moving a big series onto phones without losing its character.

A later mobile spin-off with a top-down view and a roguelite structure. Tomb Raider Reloaded sends Lara to clear procedural levels, fighting off waves of enemies and gradually upgrading her gear. It is a small project built for short runs, but it nods to the classics with familiar traps and references.

For years, getting the old games running on modern hardware was a quest of its own. In the mid-2020s that was solved with two collections that gathered the whole classic six with comfortable controls and a graphics toggle between "classic" and "modern."

A collection of the first three numbered games in refreshed form. Tomb Raider 1–3 Remastered lets you switch between the original and modernized graphics at the press of a button, and play with either the classic "tank" or the new control scheme. The ideal entry point for anyone who wants to meet the roots of the series without fiddling with old-game settings.

The follow-up to the remaster project, gathering the second half of the classics: The Last Revelation, Chronicles and The Angel of Darkness. Tomb Raider 4–6 Remastered works the same way — a graphics toggle and a choice of control scheme. The Angel of Darkness is especially interesting here: the game so divisive in 2003 can finally be judged in a friendlier form.

The new games are published by Amazon Games in partnership with Crystal Dynamics, which handles development. The result is two Unreal Engine 5 projects announced as a major new chapter for Tomb Raider. Legacy of Atlantis is slated for 2027, Catalyst for 2028.

Another look at how it all began. Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is envisioned as a reimagining of Lara's very first adventure on modern technology — with an expanded story, deeper exploration and puzzles. In essence, it is a new attempt to tell the story of the 1996 original in a way that lands for a new generation of players.

A direct continuation of the Legend line: Tomb Raider: Catalyst is set years after Underworld, bringing back that Lara for the first time in almost two decades. Its original story takes the heroine to northern India, where an ancient cataclysm has awakened forgotten forces. It is described as the most expansive entry in the series in terms of world and adventure. It is the game Amazon Games and Crystal Dynamics are betting on most for the series' new era.

Lara left the games behind long ago. The series has two movie eras with different actresses, a Netflix animated series and a big live-action show in production. The screen adaptations share no common continuity — each tells its own version of the heroine.

Lara's first outing on the big screen, played by Angelina Jolie. The film draws on the classic-era image: dual pistols, the mansion, a hunt for an ancient artifact and travels through exotic ruins. For its time it became one of the most successful video game adaptations and cemented Jolie as the definitive Lara.

A direct sequel with the same Angelina Jolie. This time the heroine seeks the mythical Pandora's Box, with the action running from the Mediterranean to Africa. The sequel leaned more into action than the first film, and it closed the book on Jolie's Lara.

A reboot of the film series inspired by the Survivor trilogy. The young Lara was played by Alicia Vikander, and the plot largely follows the 2013 game: the island of Yamatai, a first serious trial and the forging of her character. A grittier, more grounded take, closer to the modern games than to Jolie's version.

A Netflix animated series that continues the Survivor trilogy's story after the events of Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Hayley Atwell voices Lara. The show ran for two seasons: the first premiered in 2024 and the second, final season landed in December 2025. For fans of the game trilogy it is a direct continuation of a story they love.

A big live-action series for Prime Video, headed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Sophie Turner takes the role of Lara Croft, and filming began in early 2026. The series is based on the games and uses the canonical Lara Croft; whether it has its own separate continuity has not been revealed yet. By the time it airs it will be the most recent Tomb Raider adaptation.

Because of the three reboots, the series can feel intimidating. In reality it has several entry points, and all of them are easy:

The universal tip: if in doubt, start with Tomb Raider (2013). It is the most accessible entry point, and from there it is easier to decide whether you want to dig into the classics or wait for the new games.

Quick answers to what people most often ask about the series and the best way into it.

The easiest approach is to go era by era. Within each of the three eras (classic 1996–2003, Legend 2006–2008 and the Survivor trilogy 2013–2018) the story follows the release order — with one exception: Anniversary in the Legend era is a remake of the original, so story-wise it comes before Legend. Across the eras themselves you get different versions of Lara, so you can begin with any of the three.

There are twelve main numbered and story games: six in the classic era, three in the Legend era and three in the Survivor trilogy. On top of that come spin-offs like Lara Croft GO and Relic Run, the handheld adventures of the 2000s, two remaster collections and two new games slated for 2027 and 2028.

The 2013 reboot, Tomb Raider. It has modern controls, a clear standalone origin story for Lara and requires no knowledge of the earlier games. Fans of puzzles and retro should pick up Tomb Raider 1–3 Remastered.

The Core Design classics are about tank controls, grid-based platforming, tough puzzles and Lara's original story. The Crystal Dynamics Legend era brought smoother controls and a new, more cinematic version of the heroine. The Survivor trilogy is a from-scratch reboot about a young Lara, with a focus on survival and action.

Yes. Crystal Dynamics and Amazon Games are working on two Unreal Engine 5 projects — Legacy of Atlantis (a reimagining of the original, 2027) and Catalyst (a continuation of the Legend line, 2028). Alongside them, a Prime Video live-action series with Sophie Turner as Lara is on the way.

So which Tomb Raider era is your favorite — the tough classics, the Legend trilogy or the modern Survivor games? Tell us in the comments which one you started with.