# Original Tomb Raider devs didn’t love how Lara Croft was “sexualized” in marketing

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/original-tomb-raider-devs-didnt-love-how-lara-croft-was-sexualized-in-marketing/
- Published: 2026-11-03T21:50:23+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-06T10:04:21+00:00
- Original publisher: GamesRadar+
- Original article: https://www.gamesradar.com/games/tomb-raider/original-tomb-raider-devs-didnt-love-how-lara-croft-was-sexualized-in-marketing-i-think-it-went-a-bit-too-far/
- Topics: Gaming

## Key points

- Eidos’s marketing made Lara Croft a major selling point.
- Original developers felt some campaigns oversexualised her.
- Lara’s design has shifted between realistic and exaggerated styles.

## Summary

Original Tomb Raider creators say they were uncomfortable with publisher Eidos’s increasingly sexualised marketing of Lara Croft, even as it helped make her one of gaming’s most recognisable characters. Their initial vision was for a more realistic, androgynous heroine, but her design changed during development and Eidos later promoted her with suggestive images and poses.

Co-creator Paul Douglas said Lara began as a Latin American character named Laura Cruz, while level designer Heather Stevens felt some campaigns went too far and showed little imagination. Douglas maintained that the game’s quality spoke for itself despite the marketing. The article notes that Lara’s appearance moved closer to the original vision in the 2013 reboot, while upcoming games are returning to a more exaggerated style.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.