Tomb Raider's Lara Croft claims two new world records as ultimate videogame heroine

Lara Croft is already know the world over as one of gaming’s coolest characters. The Tomb Raider star has been rocking her iconic blue tank top and action cargo shorts since 1996.  

Today she’s adding to her legacy as she officially picks up two stonking new world record titles to lengthen her already impressive list of accolades: best-selling videogame heroine and most magazine covers for a videogame character.  

Since Lara's debut shook up what we thought a gaming hero could be, nearly 30 years ago, the Tomb Raider series has grown into an impressive list of 11 more entries in the main series, plus spin-offs and mobile games. These have sold a staggering 100 million units combined, putting our Lady Croft way out ahead of her competition.  

Of course, because she’s such a recognized character, publications of every stripe – gaming, film, and lifestyle mags, as well as comic books – have clamoured to feature her on their front cover over the years.  

At the most recent official count in April this year, Lara had been a cover girl 2,300 times, including titles like Newsweek and TIME – a sign of how broader culture has grown to recognize videogames as a medium to take seriously.  

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Tomb Raider's success lead to Lara inspiring other games – notably the exploits of the rakish amateur historian and adventurer Nathan Drake in the Uncharted series.  

“As tremendous fans of Lara Croft, we've been so fortunate to join the Tomb Raider community on this journey throughout the years. She's been aspirational and inspirational for nearly three decades, and it’s an honour to have her legacy recognized by Guinness World Records,” said Scot Amos, Head of Studio at Tomb Raider developers Crystal Dynamics.  

“These achievements remind us of her enduring cultural impact and the passionate global fanbase. We’re thrilled to be building a bright future for Lara Croft driven by her spirit of curiosity, courage, and adventure.” 

These new records are far from Tomb Raider’s only achievements, though. Lara’s legions of fans, not to mention the standard set by the games themselves, mean we’ve been able to stuff four entire pages full of Tomb Raider records and trivia in the Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition 2026. 

If you’re a Tomb Raider fan – and from these records we know there are millions of you out there – you can grab a copy of the book from our online store now, and learn more about gaming’s original action archaeologist.