Tomb Raider 30th anniversary plans spark LAU remaster hopes, but we’re not convinced

Tomb Raider is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year with the release of Legacy of Atlantis, a reimagining of the 1996 PS1 classic that launched Lara Croft on her path to becoming the best-selling video game heroine of all time. While Legacy of Atlantis is exciting on its own, Crystal Dynamics has now shared additional plans to mark the franchise’s 30th anniversary, which has sparked hope among fans for a remaster of the LAU trilogy: Legend, Anniversary, and Underworld.

As announced by Crystal Dynamics, the Tomb Raider 30th anniversary celebration will include products released throughout 2026 by a range of collaborators. One of the collaborators is Aspyr, the developer behind the Tomb Raider 1-3 and 4-6 remasters, as well as the port of Tomb Raider Definitive Edition for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.

In the wake of the announcement that Aspyr is once again collaborating with Lara Croft, fans on the Tomb Raider subreddit have expressed hope for an LAU trilogy remaster. This optimism stems from Aspyr’s strong work on the Tomb Raider 1-3 and 4-6 remasters, as well as the fact that Legend, Anniversary, and Underworld are the only mainline Tomb Raider games prior to the release of the Survivor trilogy that haven’t received remasters.

There’s also the fact that Crystal Dynamics has confirmed that the upcoming Tomb Raider Catalyst takes place after the events of Underworld. Originally released in 2008, Tomb Raider Underworld is available on PC as well as Xbox Series X/S through backwards compatibility, but it is unavailable on both PS4 and PS5.

A remaster would allow both old and new fans to play Underworld again before Catalyst arrives next year, which is full of important story beats such as the explosion of Croft Manor and the seemingly definitive death of Natla, the main villain of Tomb Raider 1996 and thus Legacy of Atlantis.

Why a Tomb Raider LAU remaster is unlikely

Although a remaster of Tomb Raider Legend, Anniversary, and Underworld would be welcomed, it is unlikely for several reasons. One of the biggest is that the team partly responsible for remastering Tomb Raider 1-3 and 4-6 has claimed that they “haven’t received a request” from Crystal Dynamics to remaster the LAU trilogy.

Additionally, unlike the original PS1 titles developed by Core Design, both Legend and Anniversary were added to PS Plus Premium in 2025 as PS2 ports. They were also made available for individual purchase on the PlayStation Store for $20 each.

The only missing title is a PS2 port of Underworld, which Crystal Dynamics could add in the future, even though the PS2 version of Underworld is notoriously terrible, thanks to downgraded visuals, cut content, and heavily altered level design due to the game originally being built for PS3.

Another complication is that Anniversary itself is a remake of Tomb Raider (1996), which Legacy of Atlantis is set to replace later this year as part of the unified timeline outlining Lara Croft’s canonical history. Releasing a remaster of Anniversary would arguably send mixed signals about which version of the original story Legacy of Atlantis is reimagining.

While nothing has been confirmed as of this writing, it’s more likely that Aspyr will port Rise of the Tomb Raider to Nintendo Switch 2, following the release of Tomb Raider Definitive Edition. It’s possible that Shadow of the Tomb Raider could be ported as well, bringing the entire Survivor trilogy to Nintendo.

Regardless of what Aspyr ultimately delivers, Legacy of Atlantis should be more than enough to celebrate Tomb Raider’s 30th anniversary. The game will introduce the new Lara Croft voice actor, Alix Wilton Regan, ahead of her reprisal in the open-world Catalyst, where she’ll square off against a villain voiced by the actor who portrayed Sheva in Resident Evil 5.

There are rumors of a State of Play scheduled for February 2026, and it will reportedly take place during the same week as Lara Croft’s canonical birthday. This event could provide another look at Legacy of Atlantis, or, if it does exist, it would be an appropriate stage to announce an LAU remaster.