Tomb Raider developers uncensor content, claim it was removed by accident: 'This has been resolved'



Almost two weeks after fans noticed that a portion of a Tomb Raider video game was removed, developers have since reinstated the content but claimed it was removed by accident.

Aspyr Media Inc., a subsidiary of gaming giant Embracer Group, admitted to fans of the series that it was behind the removal of images in Tomb Raider III: The Lost Artefact.

Previously, gamers noticed that developers had removed polygonal photos of its main character, Lara Croft, lying in provocative poses from the background of one of its environments. The original game's graphics made the images barely discernable, but in the remastered version, the animated posters were clear. This came more than two months after the release of Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, which came out on February 14, 2024.

Fans were doubly mad at the fact that the remastered games were supposed to be presented in their original form, or so a disclaimer at the beginning of the games said.

"The games in this collection contain offensive depictions of people and cultures rooted in racial and ethnic prejudices. These stereotypes are deeply harmful, inexcusable, and do not align with our values at Crystal Dynamics," a prompt in the game read.

Aspyr Media chalked the removal of the images up to textural and graphical updates which caused an error.

"Thank you to the Tomb Raider community for your continued feedback and support for Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft," an employee named Daniel wrote.

"In the recently released Patch 2, we made several texture and graphical updates to the HD version. As part of these updates, the posters in Sleeping With The Fishes (The Lost Artifact) were inadvertently removed in the HD version of the game. This has been resolved and these textures will be restored in Patch 3," he added.

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered's second update removed pinup posters of Lara in Tomb Raider III. Updates should never be used to retroactively censor games, it's a form of theft. Any company that engages in this bait & switch behavior should go bankrupt.
— (@)

Many fans were thankful for the decision, but some called the believability of Aspyr's claim into question.

"I have a hard time in this day and age believing that the change was inadvertent but it's certainly possible. Thank you for restoring them, either way. My faith in Aspyr is restored. My only suggestion is to get the word out quicker should something like this happen again," one fan stated on X.

@AspyrMedia I have a hard time in this day and age believing that the change was inadvertent but it's certainly possible.\n\nThank you for restoring them, either way. My faith in Aspyr is restored. My only suggestion is to get the word out quicker should something like this happen again.
— (@)

"I don't believe the change was 'inadvertent,' but good for you listening to fans and fixing the poor decision," another user wrote.


I don't believe the change was "inadvertent," but good for you listening to fans and fixing the poor decision.
— FedUpMajority (@FedUpMajority) April 26, 2024

Yet another user pointed out that there remained another change in the game that has mostly gone ignored. A enemy character in the game who had a topless woman on the back of his jacket was shown to have it covered with a bikini in the new version.

Credibility of the franchise has wavered among fans as Tomb Raider has suffered from horrible PR in early 2024. In addition to the alleged censorship and content warnings, a licensed board game for Tomb Raider also faced huge criticisms for saying that the series' main character, Lara Croft, was a "colonialist" while the games consisted of out-of-date and offensive themes related to stealing.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Tomb Raider studio censors its own game months after release, despite saying it would present content in 'original form'



An update for video game Tomb Raider III: The Lost Artefact removed polygonal photos of its main character Lara Croft, lying in provocative poses, from the background of one of its environments.

Developer Crystal Dynamics is behind the latest update, which came more than two months after the release of Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, which came out on February 14, 2024.

The apparently too-risqué pinups are reportedly based on promotional renders made for the original Tomb Raider III, and were found on the fourth level called "Sleeping with the Fishes" above a scuba diving gear locker, Bounding into Comics reported.

The first photo shows the lead character wearing her default outfit lying on a velvet background, while the second shows her covered by a bedsheet; neither shows any animated nudity of any kind.

In fact, the original game's graphics make the images barely discernable, but it is only the remastered version where the animated posters, signed by the fictional character herself, are clear.

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered's second update removed pinup posters of Lara in Tomb Raider III. Updates should never be used to retroactively censor games, it's a form of theft. Any company that engages in this bait & switch behavior should go bankrupt.
— (@)

Reports at the time of this writing stated that there was no mention of the removal in the update's patch notes, despite the company having already made a disclaimer that said it wouldn't remove content from the game.

When the game launched, fans pointed out that it booted up with a content warning about "prejudices."

"The games in this collection contain offensive depictions of people and cultures rooted in racial and ethnic prejudices. These stereotypes are deeply harmful, inexcusable, and do not align with our values at Crystal Dynamics," a prompt in the game read.

"Rather than removing this content, we have chosen to present it here in its original form, unaltered, in the hopes that we may acknowledge its harmful impact and learn from it," the warning concluded.

What\u2019s going on with the Tomb Raider Remastered Collecti\u2026.oh.
— (@)

Gamers theorized that the content warning was implemented due to characters called a "tribesman," also from the third game. The characters were purported to be from Polynesia, "shoot poison darts from blowguns," and killed and ate explorers on multiple occasions.

Celebrated game designer Mark Kern told Blaze News that the biggest concern regarding these changes is the ongoing "impermanence of digital media and the willingness of companies to censor, edit, or even remove entire games after purchase."

"Consumers deserve better protections, as our reality is edited in real time. Today it was a patch of some pinup posters, but tomorrow it will be much more. It's important to be aware of what is happening and the power we've given up to corporations to mess with things we've already paid for," he added.

The update is just days removed from stories about a Tomb Raider board game chastising its own fans and product by claiming the Lara Croft character is a result of "a world wounded by colonialism."

An excerpt from the game's manual gave a definition of the term "raiding" and then condemned it as operating on "the assumption of 'finders keepers' that grants raiders with the means and the drive to claim ownership of artefacts, regardless of whether they have any historical or cultural claim to the treasure."

Board game creator Evil Hat Productions said that it was working with Crystal Dynamics to "address colonialist themes" while creating games that "respect and support" other people and cultures.

Ideologues using beloved IPs as meatpuppets once again\nthe irony of using this as a tagline; "The Truth is hidden. The Truth is dangerous. And in the end, the power of Truth is what we make it."
— (@)

Evil Hat Productions did not respond to inquiries about the board game's manual. Crystal Dynamics was asked about the board game, as well as the decision to remove the posters from the video game.

This article will be updated with any relevant responses.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

'A world wounded by colonialism': 'Tomb Raider' board game condemns its own 30-year-old storyline as 'colonialist'



A tabletop board game based on the video game and movie franchise "Tomb Raider" reportedly condemned its own plot for out-of-date themes, which it characterized as "colonialist."

The story of Lara Croft and "Tomb Raider" began in 1994 and, as its name suggests, focuses on a female relic hunter who raids tombs and hunts treasure across the world.

The popular franchise has enjoyed enormous success in video games and film iterations, so much so that Evil Hat Productions saw fit to bring the story to life in board-game format in February 2024.

The game, "Tomb Raider: Truth of Shadows," says that players will "face perilous challenges and tough choices" as they learn what it takes to be a hero.

Nowhere in the official synopsis, however, does it include the game's alleged self-deprecating stance on the entire basis of its plotline. That commentary was reportedly saved for the game's instruction manual, which fans of the franchise quickly learned about when opening their new board game.

According to Tomb Raider Forums and Tomb Raider Chronicles, websites that deal specifically with fans and "Tomb Raider" content, Evil Hat Productions has called its own product a work of colonialism.

An alleged excerpt from the game's manual gave a definition of the term "raiding" and then condemned it as operating on "the assumption of 'finders keepers' that grants raiders with the means and the drive to claim ownership of artefacts, regardless of whether they have any historical or cultural claim to the treasure."

Aside from the strange and obvious statement declaring theft as immoral, this was not the only alleged cultural argument from the company.

"Later games released in the franchise have started the work of addressing this by having Lara Croft acknowledge her past mistakes and try to understand and show respect for the cultures and communities she comes into contact with," the manual reportedly read.

It also allegedly noted that the treasure hunter knows better than to decorate her mantle with the stolen artifacts and now prefers to prioritize "seeking out the truth."

"Much of this game is inspired by her humanity, struggle with heroism, and her tenacity. We believe that all three aspects are an important component in creating a game that celebrates history and culture while acknowledging the respect and work required to live in a world wounded by colonialism," the quote continued.

"In this game, we seek to continue in that work alongside Crystal Dynamics by creating a sandbox for you to tell stories that address colonialist themes in play and create your own stories of respect and support for the people and cultures your Seekers encounter."

Crystal Dynamics, of course, refers to the team that is currently developing "Tomb Raider" games.

Ideologues using beloved IPs as meatpuppets once again\nthe irony of using this as a tagline; "The Truth is hidden. The Truth is dangerous. And in the end, the power of Truth is what we make it."
— (@)

If the reports are accurate, this would not be the first time Evil Hat Productions has brought its own product in front of a theoretical human rights tribunal.

For its 2020 game "Fate of Cthulhu," the creators saw fit to condemn the original author of the source material used for the game.

While using his mythos, Evil Hat Productions found time to denounce American writer H.P. Lovecraft as a bigot.

Following a brief trigger warning about "systemic abuses of power," the company simply wrote, "Howard Phillips Lovecraft was a racist and an anti-Semite," in bold letters.

However, the company's use of his works was later justified by citing the writer's own quote and stating that "writers of color" have turned his work into their own stories.

"We hope you use [the stories] for inspiration as much as you use Lovecraft's original works."

While developing Fate of Cthulhu, we were obligated to reflect on the problematic roots of the source material.\nWe tackle that on page 6.\nThe mythos is definitely worth exploring - it's also worth re-examining.\nhttps://t.co/v0F853zsM0
— (@)

"The main tool for progressive ideology in gaming (according to Sweet Baby Inc.-style consulting groups) is to 'flip,'" celebrated game developer Mark Kern told Blaze News.

"Their guidelines suggest flipping everything: gender, storylines, main characters. This is deemed to increase inclusion and accessibility of the material to a modern audience. It is actually the Marxist strategy of erasing the past in order to build a new future in their image," Kern continued.

"The goal is not to include everyone, it is to exclude their political opponents. This is a repeated behavior in games to subvert, erase, and destroy. This is why they had to change 'Tomb Raider.'"

The franchise has faced publicity hurdles in 2024, which began with a release of a remaster of its original video games.

In them, the titles received an in-game content warning for "offensive depictions" and "racial" prejudices but were not censored.

Evil Hat Productions has yet to respond to questions regarding the instruction manual and its position on the subject matter. This article will be updated with any applicable responses.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

‘Halo’ Movie Is A Dull, Politically Correct Affair With Nothing To Say

In the pantheon of video game mascots, few figures are as iconic as Master Chief from the “Halo” series. Donning his famous green armored spacesuit, he ventured into hostile worlds, taking down the Covenant, an alien race intent on conquering the universe and accessing the ring worlds, or “haloes,” left over by another more ancient […]