Lara Croft Crowned Queen! Best-Selling Heroine SHOCKS Gamers!

Lara Croft, the fearless archaeologist and adventurer from the Tomb Raider series, has just added two more treasures to her already overflowing trophy room. But these aren't dusty relics or dinosaur bones – they're Guinness World Records! And honestly, is anyone really surprised?

Lara Croft Crowned Queen! Best-Selling Heroine SHO...

The iconic heroine, who first swung onto our screens (and into our hearts) back in 1996, has officially been recognized for gracing the covers of magazines a mind-boggling 2,300 times as of April 2024. That's a lot of newsstands! And if that wasn't enough, the Tomb Raider franchise itself has smashed through the 100 million copies sold barrier. Guinness World Records calls it a feat that puts Lara "way out ahead" of her rivals in the video game world. Pretty impressive, wouldn't you say?

"As tremendous fans of Lara Croft, we've been so fortunate to join the Tomb Raider community on this journey throughout the years," said Scott Amos, head of studio at Crystal Dynamics, the developers behind many of the Tomb Raider games. It’s clear they understand what makes Lara so special. "She's been aspirational and inspirational for nearly three decades, and it's an honour to have her legacy recognised by Guinness World Records. These achievements remind us of her enduring cultural impact and the passionate global fanbase." He added, "We're thrilled to be building a bright future for Lara Croft driven by her spirit of curiosity, courage, and adventure." A bright future indeed – and one that’s likely to involve even more tombs, traps, and treasure, naturally.

Guinness World Records editor Alice Bell echoed this sentiment, calling Lara a "true gaming icon" and noting that her continued record-breaking legacy "shows what an inspirational character" she is. "Long may Lara's adventurous spirit reign! We'll see what new standards she can set into the future!" And honestly, who knows what records Lara will be breaking next? Perhaps "most artifacts recovered from booby-trapped tombs" would be a good one to aim for.

For those of us itching for more Croft action, there's good news on the horizon. While the last main series installment, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, came out in 2018, Crystal Dynamics is currently hard at work with Amazon on the next game. In the meantime, you can catch Lara in animated form on Netflix – the second season of the Tomb Raider anime series drops this December. Plus, there's a live-action series in development for Amazon Prime, with Sophie Turner (yes, Sansa Stark herself!) taking on the role of Lara Croft. It seems the legacy of Lara Croft is far from being buried – in fact, it's just getting started. Bring on the adventures!