Highlights

  • Lara Croft, one of gaming's most recognizable characters, is set to appear in Call of Duty: Warzone's Season 5 update alongside hip-hop icons Snoop Dogg, Nicki Minaj, and 21 Savage.
  • Tomb Raider's Lara Croft will now have to compete with Call of Duty's portrayal of her, which could potentially be the most realistic and graphically-impressive version yet.
  • The next Tomb Raider game will face the challenge of creating a brand-new iconic look for Lara that must surpass the already impressive Survivor Lara design by Crystal Dynamics.

As far as famous video game characters go, few can claim they're quite as iconic as Tomb Raider's Lara Croft. Debuting all the way back in 1996 with the very first Tomb Raider game, Lara Croft became an icon in the gaming world long before her debut title even released, with her likeness slapped on the cover of just about every magazine under the sun. And being such a popular character, Lara Croft is always turning up in places she's least expected, and her next destination is none other than Call of Duty: Warzone.

Announced just a day ago, Call of Duty: Warzone is set to receive its Season 5 update on August 2. Much like the last four, Call of Duty: Warzone's Season 5 update will add a slew of new content to the game, ranging from new vehicles to a new Resurgence map to a surprising number of new DMZ mode features. But the content that's getting the most talk online at the minute is Warzone's Season 5 Operators, with hip-hop icons Snoop Dogg, Nicki Minaj, and 21 Savage all coming to the game soon. But - according to the PlayStation Blog - alongside those other larger-than-life figures, Warzone is also set to add Tomb Raider's own Lara Croft, which puts the next Tomb Raider game in an interesting position.

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A New Lara Croft Design Will Now Have to Compete with Call of Duty

Lara Croft in Rise of the Tomb Raider

Over the last 27 years, Lara Croft has had her fair share of iconic outfits and character designs. Though some of her design is disappointingly exaggerated, the original 1996 Lara Croft design is one of the character's most iconic, with the pale blue top, huge brown belt, dual holsters, and green cargo shorts. Along with the physics-defying ponytail, this original design for Lara is truly one of her most memorable, and there's a reason why her outfit has remained largely unchanged for years, albeit with better graphics and (barely) more realistic proportions.

But with Tomb Raider heading into a new stage back in 2013, it was time for a more realistic makeover, and that's exactly what Crystal Dynamics gave her. Known generally as "Survivor" Lara, this version of the beloved adventurer still has some of the major trademarks of the original 1996 design, but gives them a much more modern look and feel. In Tomb Raider 2013, Lara still wears a pale blue top, but she swaps out the cargo shorts for regular brown pants, and her hair is a tad shorter, though it's still fashioned into a more practical ponytail. Over the next few entries, this look for Lara would continue to evolve, with the character's facial motion capture receiving continued improvement, making this version of Lara by far the most realistic so far.

Though details on the next Tomb Raider game are limited, it's really only a matter of time before more is revealed. While they will be a ton of challenges for the next Tomb Raider game to overcome, one of the most noticeable will be trying to outdo Crystal Dynamics' Survivor Lara design. The next Tomb Raider game not only needs to create a brand-new look for Lara, but also ensure that it's iconic from the get-go and hearkens back to the original design in some way. It's a tall order, and unfortunately, more competition is about to enter the ring.

Lara Croft heading to Call of Duty: Warzone means that fans will soon see a modern Lara character model that will likely be pretty great. Call of Duty: Warzone has some fairly impressive graphics, and the recent The Boys crossover has shown that the developers behind it are more than capable of producing life-like character models. This potentially means that Warzone's version of Lara Croft could be the most realistic and graphically-impressive fans have seen yet, making the next Tomb Raider game's job even harder.

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