Luke Earle is a Mobile Game Producer and Animation Consultant based in Derby who has spent over a decade building an extensive private Tomb Raider collection.
That collection aims to celebrate Derby’s videogame heritage. Over the past 10 years, he has organised community events celebrating the franchise and its origins in Derby. As part of the 30th anniversary of the franchise, Luke led the curation of ‘Lara Croft: 30 Years On‘ with Derby Museums, which launched on July 24th 2026, as well as a fundraiser for a life-size Lara Croft statue in Derby.
It all started in October 1996? In Derby?!
Well, almost. Though the first Tomb Raider game was released in October 1996, the earliest Game Development Document is from 1994 (and has been uploaded online by Paul Douglas). The series was originally pitched with a male lead, though Jeremy Heath-Smith (producer at Core Design) encouraged the team to go in a different direction to avoid being sued by the Indiana Jones team.
My personal journey with Tomb Raider began in 1996. My Dad brought the game home and as a dinosaur-obsessed kid, the image of the T. rex became embedded in my mind. My school was also near 55 Ashbourne Road (where the Core Design studio was located) and when we walked past my Mum would say “that’s where Lara Croft lives”. This began to make more sense as I got older! Around 2010, I found out that someone was selling Tomb Raider items from Core Design, saving them from the trash. There were awards, concept art, and internal correspondence. A collector’s paradise!
From Pickford’s House to Croft Manor
I’ve been hosting Tomb Raider events since the 20th anniversary to promote the creation of Tomb Raider in the city. The annual event has brought over one thousand visitors to the city. I’ve built a bespoke collection of Tomb Raider ephemera, with a general focus on the Core Design days but also exploring movies, comics, and games.
After seeing the success of the Dracula Returns To Derby exhibition at Pickfords’ House, I decided to pitch Lara Croft 30 Years On, where we would transform the Grade I listed Georgian building into Croft Manor. It was important that we worked with the IP holder from the beginning of the process. Thankfully, I have a longstanding relationship with Crystal Dynamics and they were extremely helpful, providing assets, contributing to panels and supporting on social media.
We brought in experts to tell the story of Tomb Raider and Lara Croft, such as Daryl Baxter (author of Making of Tomb Raider), Dr Llewella Chapman (University of East Anglia) and Meagan Marie (Crystal Dynamics). There were some incredible loans from former Core Design developers, such as the original computer used by programmer Derek Leigh-Gilchrist across Tomb Raider 1-5. The computer also had the final source code of those games, which was provided to Aspyr to support the development of the Remastered games in 2024 and 2025. The Barbican (as part of their Game On exhibition) loaned us the BAFTA presented to Core Design in 1999 for Contribution to the Interactive Industry.
“Welcome to my humble abode. Feel free to take a look around” – Lara Croft
It was interesting taking a space that wasn’t associated with gaming and making it relevant to fans and visitors. Both the exterior and interior of Pickfords’ House lent themselves to the recreation of Croft Manor. We also introduced cosplay days so that fans could explore the space and use it as their own Croft Manor.
It was important that we had Tomb Raider games playable in the exhibition. We decided to emulate them on Raspberry Pis instead of consoles for two reasons; the ability to reset and jump back to a particular moment in the game, and because of how easy they are to set up. Just turn on the plug and it’s ready to go.
Videogame Tourism
My aim is to highlight the story of Tomb Raider’s creation in Derby. I see Lara Croft as the Robin Hood of Derby, which gives us a way of approaching this heritage. Tomb Raider fans see visiting Derby as a pilgrimage. There’s multiple stops, starting with 55 Ashbourne Road (and the pub opposite), Lara Croft Way and the Lara Croft star on the Derby walk of fame. This has since appeared in the Remastered Tomb Raider game as an easter egg, a real full circle moment.
This leads me onto what’s next for Lara and Derby. We’re in the process of creating a crowdfunding campaign to purchase a life size statue of Lara Croft for the city. It was used in Camden Market for the Tomb Raider: Live Experience. We plan to place it in Derby Market Hall to provide another location for videogame tourism in the city. It’s important that we celebrate the importance of Tomb Raider to Derby, and vice versa. Let’s bring Lara home.
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