Remastered ‘Tomb Raider III’ Quietly Erases Racy Lara Croft Posters
Image via Tomb Raider
A recent update to Tomb Raider Raider I-III Remastered has removed pinup posters featuring Lara Croft in suggestive poses. The visuals, originally found in the game’s fourth level, were a relic of a bygone era in gaming, where female characters were often hypersexualized.
The developer, Aspyr, has not commented on the reason for the removal. The change was absent from the official patch notes, and only uncovered by eagle-eyed fans who have taken to the Tomb Raider subreddit to air their vexations about the censorship.
The missing posters initially adorned the walls at the beginning of Tomb Raider III: The Lost Artefact’s fourth level, named Sleeping with the Fishes. Now, players switching to the remastered graphics settings now find these walls inexplicably bare.
No fcking way. They did it. They actually did it.
— Smash JT (@SmashJT) April 19, 2024
Crystal Dynamics censored out the pics of Lara in the update on Tomb Raider.
WTF!?
Credit/Thx: @momiji_doa pic.twitter.com/yaSBtFXaoH
However, the pixelated versions of the posters remain visible when playing with the original graphics in the 1990s mode.
This stealthy edit contradicts Crystal Dynamics’ earlier stance. The studio, currently holding the Tomb Raider franchise reins, included a launch warning for the remastered trilogy. It stated its intention to preserve the original content, “in its original form,” allowing players to “learn from its harmful impact.”
