Tomb Raider
The first entry in the series "Tomb Raider" was released in 1996 for personal computers (PC), PlayStation and Sega Saturn consoles. The Saturn and PlayStation versions were released in Japan in 1997. The second game, "Tomb Raider II", launched in 1997, again for PC and PlayStation. A month before release, Eidos finalised a deal with Sony Computer Entertainment to keep the console version of "Tomb Raider II" and future games exclusive to PlayStation until the year 2000. The PlayStation version was released in Japan in 1998. "Tomb Raider III" launched in 1998. As with "Tomb Raider II", the PlayStation version released in Japan the following year. The fourth consecutive title in the series, "", released in 1999. In 2000, with the end of the PlayStation exclusivity deal, the game also released on the Dreamcast. In Japan, both console versions released the following year. "Tomb Raider Chronicles" released in 2000 on the same platforms as "The Last Revelation", with the PlayStation version's Japanese release as before coming the following year.
Tomb Raider II
While two key members of the original team had left – most notably Lara's creator Toby Gard – most of them remained on board for the sequel. Graphic artist/level designer Heather Stevens recounted, "We had invested so much time and creativity into "Tomb Raider" that it would have been unthinkable to just walk away from it. It was action stations again for most of the team, and time to get our heads down again." Developing the original "Tomb Raider" had been an arduous task requiring the team to put in long hours to get the game out on time, and the sequel was assigned a much tighter deadline, less than a year for development. The design team for "Tomb Raider II" was expanded to more than double its original size. A decision was made early on to keep the engine from the first "Tomb Raider", adopting a tweak-and-improve approach, rather than starting over from scratch. This, combined with the larger development team, allowed the team to meet the deadline. Minor camera issues and polygon glitches were fixed, while new features were added, such as dynamic lighting and a more flexible control system. With the improvements to the graphics engine, a larger number of polygons could be rendered on screen, allowing large outdoors areas.