Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered pin-up posters controversy explained

In a rare case of a project that changes a game that so many have fond memories of, Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered enjoyed acclaim from fans and newcomers upon release and required various months to stir controversy. What’s not so rare or unexpected is that this controversy is related to some more sexualized imagery of Lara that was originally included — then removed — from the game.

What happened to Lara Croft’s pin-up posters in Tomb Raider 1-3?

Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered features various easter eggs that even TombRaider.com encourages players to look for. One of said easter eggs is on a wall on the Sleeping With The Fishes level of Tomb Raider 3’s The Lost Artefact expansion. The original version of the expansion featured some racier posters used to market some of the Tomb Raider sequels back in the day, but they were so low-res that you could go through that room without even noticing them.

But, in Remastered, these posters are presented in very High Definition. For the longest time after the game’s release, they just sat there but, they vanished with the launch of April’s patch. This struck fans as odd because regardless of the posters’ possible lack of tastefulness, nobody had really complained much about their existence.

Kotaku went on to mention that the removal of the posters wasn’t even mentioned in the game’s patch notes. Weirder still — the game’s website was still telling fans to go look for this easter egg.

Should Tomb Raider 1-3 Remaster even feature pin-up posters of Lara Croft?

Aspyr has since clarified that the removal was an accident that resulted from tinkering with some of the HD textures, not an attempt at sneakily censoring the game’s easter eggs. This is likely true, as the low-res posters were still there to see for anyone playing the game in the OG view mode. Aspyr has stated the easter egg will be restored with the upcoming patch.

Luckily, nobody seems that bothered about the presence or the absence of said posters. It feels like this was more a case of confusion than a full-blown controversy, which is a welcome change in the current gaming landscape. However, it is worth remembering that Toby Gard, the creator of Lara, vehemently opposed the sexualization of the character. The continued fetishization of Lara as a sex symbol was the main reason he decided to leave Core Design after finishing the development of the original game.

You can play Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch.