Author guest post from Daryl Baxter

June 24 marks the launch of pre-orders for The Making of Tomb Raider: 1997-2000, the follow-up to 2021’s The Making of Tomb Raider. In addition, it also marks the reveal of its front cover, made by the incredibly talented artist Inna Vjuzhanina.

It feels very strange to be typing this, I must admit, but also with a sense that it’s nice to finally reveal the front cover, having had it as my iPhone’s lock screen since February. From starting work on the book in October 2023 to finishing it in October 2025, it’s taken a while to get here, but it’s been worth it in so many ways.

All Around The World

Tomb Raider is 30 years old this year, with the original game coming out in October 1996 on the Sega Saturn console, followed by the Sony PlayStation and PC in November. Starring Lara Croft, the title became a smash hit, defining much of the mid to late 90s, alongside Girl Power, Brit Pop, and more.

Developer Crystal Dynamics is working on a reimagining of the first game, called Legacy of Atlantis, set to come out in February 2027. So instead, the next best way to mark this 30th anniversary is The Making of Tomb Raider: 1997-2000!

When I got asked about the possibility of another Tomb Raider book in early 2023, I was conflicted. I consider Tomb Raider I and II to be among the greatest games of all time. I had heard about the tight development periods of Tomb Raider III, IV, and V. Having been given them on each Christmas Day from 1998 to 2000, I was always curious about how a new team took them on, whilst the original went to work on a PlayStation 2 game called Project Eden, which eventually came out in 2001.

What also interested me was the scrapped ideas I’d heard of throughout the years, as well as working under pressure to bring a game out every year. It’s these factors and others that led me to work on the follow-up to 2021’s The Making of Tomb Raider over a period of two years.

The result is a 90,000-word epic that contains nothing but original material from speaking to many of those who worked on these games during 1997-2000, with not one AI-generated word or image to be seen.

From Lara starting in India in Tomb Raider III to her disappearance in Egypt at the end of Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, and subsequent discovery in Tomb Raider: Chronicles, there’s a lot of story to tell.

Better, Faster, Stronger

Some I had spoken to for The Making of Tomb Raider: 1997-2000 have never shared their experiences before until this book – it’s something I’m incredibly grateful for. It’s resulted in brand new insights into how certain things were created, scrapped for time, or never meant to be released publicly

You’ll discover details about the bosses in Tomb Raider III, especially London’s battle with Sophia Leigh, and who really voiced her.

Plus, when it comes to 1999’s Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, you’ll discover why Lara’s Home was replaced with a tutorial level with Lara’s mentor, Verner Von Croy. and the challenges that Programmer Tom Scutt had to overcome to get this section working.

But another aspect that I’m proud of is the book’s front cover. Created by Ukrainian artist Inna Vjuzhanina, we started working together earlier this year on the idea of Lara being surrounded by the artefacts that feature in the Tomb Raider games in this book. The result is an incredible cover that has Lara front and centre again, deep in the Great Pyramids of Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, surrounded by carvings of every artefact from what’s featured in The Making of Tomb Raider: 1997-2000.

It feels great to finally reveal this, along with launching pre-orders for its subsequent October launch. I’m planning on writing more about it as the book’s release gets closer. But if you’d like to find out how it all began, you can currently buy 2021’s The Making of Tomb Raider for a special price.

Order your copy here.