From one of the defining PlayStation action platformers to a complete reboot that spanned multiple consoles, Tomb Raider has seen it all. Gamers are put into the boots of series protagonist Lara Croft as she solves puzzles and fends off enemies in unique locations all across the world. What is the top selling Tomb Raider game of all time? Let’s take a look at the top 10 best selling Tomb Raider games of all time.

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Top Selling Tomb Raider Game: 

10. Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness – 2.51 Million Units

9. Tomb Raider: Underworld – 2.62 Million Units

8. Tomb Raider: Legend – 2.82 Million Units

7. Shadow of the Tomb Raider – 4.12 Million Units

6. Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation – 4.74 Million Units

5. Tomb Raider III – 5.94 Million Units

4. Tomb Raider II – 6.85 Million Units

3. Rise of the Tomb Raider – 7 Million Units

The second game in the Square Enix reboot trilogy, Rise of the Tomb Raider was released in 2015 as a timed exclusive for the Xbox 360 and One X before releasing on PlayStation and PC the following year. The organization Trinity acts as the game’s antagonist after their brief introduction at the end of the 2013 Tomb Raider release.

Lara digs into her father’s research and heads to Siberia in search of the lost city of Kitezh. Trinity is there as well and is trying to unlock the mythed key to immortality that lies within the city. Ana, who was Lara’s father’s partner at the time of his death is imprisoned by Konstantin, a leader of Trinity who captures Lara in a tomb early on in the game.

Konstantin threatens Ana in an attempt to get Lara to tell him what she knows about Kitezh. When he realizes Lara does not know the location of the city, Ana reveals that she is part of Trinity and that Konstantin is her brother. Lara is imprisoned and meets a man named Jacob.

Jacob is part of a group of locals who are descendants of the Prophet of Constantinople. Lara soon discovers that Jacob is the current prophet and that his people have the key to immortality through a divine source. Ana and Konstantin reach the divine source and a  battle breaks out that leaves Ana and Konstantin dead. The divine source is broken and Jacob loses his immortality but is thankful to Lara for stopping Trinity. Before Konstantin dies, he reveals that Lara’s father didn’t commit suicide but was actually murdered by Trinity.

The game received positive reviews and continued the semi-open-world game design of its predecessor. A sequel, the final in the reboot trilogy Shadow of the Tomb Raider released in 2018.

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2. Tomb Raider (1996) – 7.16 Million Units

The game that started it all. Tomb Raider was released on the original PlayStation in 1996. Lara is approached by a mercenary named Larson on behalf of Jacqueline Natla. Lara is hired to find the Scion an ancient artifact buried in Peru.

Larson attacks Lara after she gets the Scion and reveals that Lara has only recovered part of the Scion. Natla has sent Lara’s rival Pierre DuPont to find the remaining pieces of the artifact.

As the race for the remaining two pieces is on, Lara finds Pierre in a tomb and kills him while obtaining the second piece. Lara then heads to Egypt to recover the final piece and kills Larson in the process. After emerging from the tomb, Natla attacks Lara who takes the completed artifact from her. Lara follows them and hides on Natla’s yacht. Natla reveals she wants to use the artifact to create an ancient army to push human evolution forward. Lara destroys the Scion and kills Natla in the process, preventing any future use of the Scion.

The game received praise for its graphics, controls, and the environments that gamers were launched into. It spawned a franchise that is still going strong today.

1. Tomb Raider (2013) – 11 Million Units

The 2013 reboot of the franchise is the top selling Tomb Raider game of all time. Tomb Raider puts gamers in the boots of a young and inexperienced Lara Croft on her first expedition. She along with her friend Sam and the crew The Endurance set a course for Yamatai. The boat is shipwrecked by a storm and the crew becomes scattered.

Lara soon discovers it is Yamatai they are shipwrecked on. The island is said to have a curse on it that prevents anyone from leaving. As the crew reunites they meet a man named Mathias who is intrigued by the legend of Himiko that Sam shares with him. The crew discovers the island is inhabited by a group and it is later revealed that Mathias is their leader of them. Sam is taken hostage due to her ancestral relation to Himiko. Mathias plans to sacrifice Sam to break the island’s curse and finally leave Yamatai.

As Lara explores the island and attempts to free the rest of the crew of the Endurance she learns that the curse is because Himiko’s successor committed suicide before she could finish receiving the power of Himiko. Due to Sam’s connection to Himiko, Mathias plans to sacrifice Sam which will transfer Himiko’s soul to Sam and take over her body.

Lara stops the ceremony just in time, killing Mathias and destroying Himiko’s remains, lifting the curse. The survivors of the Endurance leave the island as the Tomb Raider is born.

Gamers got to see a much more naive and vulnerable side of Lara than in previous installments. The game was very well received and paved the way for a full trilogy from Square Enix.

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Did your favorite Tomb Raider game make it on the top selling list? Let us know in the comments below. 

Header photo credit – Crystal Dynamics / Square Enix 

Data courtesy of VG Chartz