The most famous nude code in gaming history was never real, but millions of people spent hours trying to unlock it, which proved just how obsessed the world was with Lara Croft. This episode follows the Tomb Raider franchise from Core Design in Derby, where Toby Gard swapped his protagonist's gender to avoid looking like an Indiana Jones knockoff, through Paul Douglas's custom 3D engine with true verticality, tank controls, and a 1996 debut that sold over seven million units and saved publisher Eidos.

We trace the punishing annual release schedule, the shadow team secretly assigned to Tomb Raider III, Gard's departure over the marketing of Lara's sex appeal, and the 2003 Angel of Darkness disaster that cost Core Design the franchise. Then we cover Crystal Dynamics' Legend trilogy, the 2013 Survivor reboot that sold 11 million units, Square  ...