Tomb Raider sales pass 8.5m, is Lara Croft’s most successful ever adventure

Square Enix has said that 2013’s Tomb Raider has become the most successful game in the iconic series.

Sales of the title have now passed 8.5m units. It was first released on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC in March 2013 before being re-released in its Definitive Edition guise on PS4 and Xbox One in January last year.

Since its launch in 1996 total sales for the brand have now hit 40m units.

Square Enix was initially less positive about the game, saying shortly after its launch that despite sales of 3.4m units in its first three weeks the title had actually missed internal targets. The company’s ineffective” North American sales force were blamed for the numbers.

However, by January 2014 the game had finally shifted enough to break even, leading to accusations that the publisher had harboured unrealistic expectations for the franchise reboot.

Lara Croft’s next adventure, Rise of the Tomb Raider, is due out later this year. It will have a period of timed exclusivity on Xbox One and Xbox 360.