The announcement came without prior warning, marking the first time the acclaimed 2013 reboot of Tomb Raider has been made available on Nintendo platforms. The Definitive Edition, originally released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2014, brings Lara Croft’s gritty origin story to Nintendo players with enhanced visuals, improved performance, and all previously released downloadable content included.
This edition features the full single-player campaign set on the mysterious island of Yamatai, where a young Lara Croft evolves from an inexperienced archaeologist into a hardened survivor. Alongside the main adventure, the package includes six alternate outfits for Lara, eight multiplayer maps, and four additional playable characters for online play. Fans also receive digital extras such as the Tomb Raider: The Beginning comic by Dark Horse, the art book The Art of Survival, and the behind-the-scenes documentary series Final Hours of Tomb Raider.
The release strategy has been particularly notable: the game appeared suddenly on the Nintendo eShop as a “shadow drop,” priced at around €18.19/$19.99, with a limited-time launch discount reducing the cost to approximately €16.37/$17.99 until November 24, 2025. The download size is about 27 GB, since it brings all content and upgraded assets.
This is another signal that companies are reaching the Nintendo Switch family as a place to grow their game franchises. While the franchise has long been associated with PlayStation, Xbox, and PC, this is the first time the modern reboot has reached Nintendo consoles. The move also suggests that Aspyr may bring the rest of the reboot trilogy—Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of the Tomb Raider—to the Switch family in the future.
Finally Lara is back on Nintendo, and the Switch 2 version, in particular, benefits from improved performance and visual fidelity, making it the definitive way to play the game, in general.
