Tomb Raider: Anniversary
"Tomb Raider" is the first game in the titular franchise, and introduced the series' gameplay standards and its protagonist Lara Croft. Developed by British studio Core Design, "Tomb Raider" was a commercial and critical success, and was followed by five successive games between 1996 and 2000. Their sixth "Tomb Raider" game "" was beset by developmental problems and rushed to release, resulting in low sales and mixed critical reception. The game's failure and Core Design's fatigue with the series prompted franchise publisher Eidos Interactive to move development of "Tomb Raider" to the American studio Crystal Dynamics, who rebooted the franchise with "". "Legend" released in 2006 to critical and commercial success.
Crystal Dynamics
Crystal Dynamics had been most known for developing "Legacy of Kain" and "Gex", but in 2003, the studio was also entrusted the development of the best-selling "Tomb Raider" franchise after its original developer, Core Design, failed to gain critical or commercial success with their later "Tomb Raider" games, and released its first game in the series in 2006, "", which was the fastest-selling game in the entire series, selling 4.5 million units worldwide. Crystal Dynamics co-developed "" with developer Buzz Monkey Software. "", a remake of the first "Tomb Raider" game, was released in June 2007. The next installment, "", was released the following year in October 2008. Crystal Dynamics' next release was the spin-off title "Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light", which did not feature the "Tomb Raider" branding despite utilizing the lead character. The game was released for digital distribution only.