Apparently it would appear that the Tomb raider franchise is not as healthy as it used to be. The days of movie spin-offs with Angelina Jolie would look like being long gone (was it really 2001 that the movie came out?) Indeed, publisher Eidos even had to renegotiate debt covenants according to some reports, so badly did the latest episode of the video game fare when released.

However, talking in one still very popular Tomb Raider support forum, a member rumoured to be none other than Eric Lindstrom (creative director on Tomb Raider: Underworld) has hinted that the ESRB teen rating which prevents sexual content in the game might be scrapped in future versions. "...yes the Teen rating meant we couldn't do things we wanted to" he says, adding "It won't always necessarily be so, though, the future can always be different."

This has led to some speculation that the next Tomb Raider release could feature a naked Lara Croft.

To be honest, given that teens seem to love posting naked pictures of themselves online anyway I am not sure if this would be such a revelation. Now if it were a naked Angelina Jolie in a new movie things might be different, but a cartoon character in a video game? Plus, remember, that parents have made it quite clear how sex in games is a bigger turn off than virtual violence. So such a move could even damage, rather than repair, the Tomb Raider brand.