Makeover on the cards for Lara Croft?

Just hours after confirming that the publisher is laying off staff at the studio responsible for Tomb Raider, Eidos has admitted it might revamp the series lead character Lara Croft.

A report in the The Times says that the publisher – which recently described sales of the latest Tomb Raider title as below expectations, despite shifting 1.5m copies globally – could look to garner more appeal amongst female gamers.

On Friday Eidos shares fell on the news that the publisher was revising its full year revenues (for the year ending June 30th 2009) down from a projected £180m-£200m to £160m-£180m as a result of the Tomb Raider: Underworld’s ‘disappointing’ performance.

Eidos CFO Robert Brent likened Croft to evolving pop culture characters, like superheroes, as a means to keep her appealing.

The James Bond-style reboot would help the publisher attract a wider audience.

“We need to look at everything, as we develop the next game. Look at how Batman changed succesfully, from the rather sad character of the Michael Keaton era to the noir style of The Dark Knight," said Brent.

The comparison to Batman is fitting for Eidos. The London studio it part owns, Rocksteady, is developing a game based on the character, and the comic book hero’s owner DC Comics is part of Warner Bros, the media firm regularly tipped as prime for a take over of Eidos.