[Update, April 29th, 2024: Following backlash to this censorship, Aspyr has promised to restore the removed pin-ups in the game’s upcoming Title Update 3.
The original article follows below.]
In the latest instance of a video game developer censoring a release post-launch, a recent update to Aspyr and Crystal Dynamics’ recent Tomb Raider: I – III Remastered has removed a pair of ‘risqué’ pin-ups featuring series protagonist Lara Croft from the third game’s expansion pack, Tomb Raider III: The Lost Artefact.
The two pin-ups in question, both of which are based on promotional renders made for Tomb Raider III proper, can be found hung above Lara’ scuba gear locker at the start of the game’s fourth level, ‘Sleeping with the Fishes’.
In the first, the buxom heroine can be seen wearing her default outfit and laying against a red velvet background.
Kicking the spice factor up just a notch, the second pin-up depicts a fully nude Lara wrapped seductively in a bed sheet, her body illuminated only by a pair of candles.
In the initial release of Tomb Raider I – III Remastered, these pin-ups could be found on full display in both The Lost Artefact‘s ‘original’ and ‘remastered’ graphic settings, their appearance in the former admittedly hard to make out thanks to their being composed entirely of pixels and the latter presenting them in their original, high-definition resolution.
However, as first reported by users on the /r/TombRaider subreddit, following the release of the collection’s Title Update 2.0 on April 11th, the pin-ups, while still present when playing with the game’s ‘original’ graphics, have now been completely removed from the ‘remastered’ version of The Lost Artefact.
In adding insult to injury, not only were the pin-ups subject to post-release censorship, but the update’s patch notes failed – and, as of writing, continue to fail – to make any mention of their removal, thus effectively leaving players to be blindsided by the change.
Notably, despite Tomb Raider I – III Remastered including a boot-up disclaimer that promises players the games therein would be presented in their “original form, unaltered”, this is not the first instance of censorship found within the collection (and interestingly, both are related to ‘pixelated titillation’).
As seen in the first Tomb Raider game, series antagonist Pierre DuPont sports a bomber jacket featuring a ‘pin-up’ style graphic emblazoned on its back.
In the original 1996 release of the game, the graphic in question – appearing more as an ‘Easter Egg’ than anything else due to the fact that it is only viewable during those rare moments during his boss fights where the player is able to get behind him – features a completely nude, blonde-haired woman sitting underneath the text ‘Lady Luck’ and its abbreviation, ‘LL’.
However, in the Remastered collection, Lady Luck is instead seen wearing a red bikini.
Further, the two red ‘Ls’ which previously adorned the coat have been replaced by the Greek symbol for Phi Tau – it’s unknown whether this is in reference to the binary star Phi Tauri or Pierre’s college fraternity – itself also colored red.
As of writing, neither of the game’s co-developers, Aspyr Media and Crystal Dynamics, have offered any public comment on their decision to censor the pin-ups.