Highlights
- Lara Croft, the iconic Tomb Raider protagonist, has made appearances in various games as an Easter egg, playable character, or cosmetic skin.
- She has appeared in games like Shadow Warrior, Brawlhalla, Fortnite, Fall Guys, and Final Fantasy Brave Exvius.
- The most recent appearance is in Call of Duty: Warzone and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, where she is available as a playable Operator with a modernized design and voice acting by Keeley Hawes.
For almost three decades now, Tomb Raider's Lara Croft has been one of the most iconic characters in all of gaming. Coming out during the height of console mascots, Lara Croft quickly became a symbol of the power of the PlayStation, even though her games were ported to most platforms. With almost 20 games under its belt, the Tomb Raider franchise has well and truly earned its spot in the video game hall of fame. The beloved series' protagonist is its main draw, but Lara Croft isn't constrained to just the Tomb Raider series.
With an immediately recognizable look, a British accent, and a suave, sophisticated, and yet sassy personality, Lara Croft is easily one of gaming's most iconic protagonists. While she often works best in her natural tomb-raiding habitat, she isn't afraid of a change of scenery. Over the last 27 years, Lara Croft has appeared across the gaming industry, either as an Easter egg, an additional playable character, or as a cosmetic skin.
All of Lara Croft's Video Game Guest Appearances
One of Lara Croft's very first appearances in another game series occurred all the way back in 1997, just one year after the first Tomb Raider released. In the very first Shadow Warrior, a rudimentary sprite of Lara Croft can be found in a secret tunnel during the game's fourth mission. After blowing up some explosive barrels next to a destructible wall, players will find Lara Croft chained up behind bars, and the player-character will remark that she's "raided her last tomb."
One of Lara Croft's more substantial appearances outside of her own series came in a crossover with the underrated fighting game Brawlhalla. In this crossover, Lara Croft is technically only a cosmetic skin that replaces the playable fighter Diana, though Diana's base abilities fit Lara extremely well, giving her a bow and dual pistols. This crossover features skins based on both Lara's classic look, and the more recent "Survivor" look based on Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider reboot.
Lara Croft made a very similar appearance in Fortnite all the way back in March 2021. Players could unlock three different Lara Croft skins in Fortnite, one of them based on her classic polygonal character model, one based on the Survivor trilogy, and one that blended the original Tomb Raider design with Fortnite's more cartoon-y art style. Players could also get a gold version of that last skin by completing some in-game challenges. Fall Guys also brought its own Lara Croft skin to the table, with a handful of accompanying emotes and titles.
One of the more bizarre Lara Croft appearances outside of Tomb Raider comes from Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, the free-to-play mobile RPG that first released in 2015. Only available through the limited-time Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris crossover event, Lara Croft appears in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius as a standalone playable character, complete with her own moveset and unique skills and traits. Taking on the role of a Physical Attacker, Lara Croft has access to her automatic pistols, a shotgun, and some classic acrobatic moves.
The most recent Lara Croft appearance outside the Tomb Raider franchise is happening right now, with Lara Croft being available as a playable Operator in Call of Duty: Warzone and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. This Operator bundle has quickly shot to fame online, featuring potentially the best design for a modernized version of Lara Croft's original appearance, and featuring a spot-on performance by Keeley Hawes.