Tomb Raider: 6 Open Source Clones Compared
OpenTomb's own README states the project is inactive and recommends TombEngine — the project catalogued here as Tomb Engine — as an actively developed alternative. CroftEngine and TRX both require the player's own original game data and aim to reproduce classic campaigns with enhancements: CroftEngine remakes Tomb Raider 1 and adds visual-only online co-op plus controller support, while TRX reimplements Tomb Raider 1-3 with restorations such as the original braid and a photo mode. Tomb Engine, by contrast, needs no original assets at all — it's a Lua-scriptable platform built for creating new custom levels rather than reproducing the original games.
Comparison table
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Web
- Play in browser
- YesPlay in Browser
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 2mo ago
- Stars
- 5,098
- Contributors
- 57
- License
- BSD-2-Clause
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
- Modding support
- —
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Windows
- Play in browser
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Archived
- Last updated
- 2y ago
- Stars
- 1,445
- Contributors
- 29
- License
- LGPL-3.0
- Engine
- SDL2
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesRequires data folders and assets from original Tomb Raider games 1-5 or TRLE levels.
- Modding support
- YesLua scripting engine for defining entity functionality and extensive modding potential.
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Linux, OSX, Windows
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- today
- Stars
- 987
- Contributors
- 31
- License
- GPL-3.0
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesRequires legally obtained original Tomb Raider game disc images to run.
- Modding support
- —
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Windows
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- today
- Stars
- 343
- Contributors
- 39
- License
- —
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- NoUses its own custom level editor and engine; no original game assets required.
- Modding support
- YesSupports Lua scripting as the native scripting language for custom level creation.
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Linux, Windows
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 3mo ago
- Stars
- 310
- Contributors
- 29
- License
- —
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesRequires data files (AUDIO, DATA, FMV folders) from the original Tomb Raider 1 game.
- Modding support
- —
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Linux, OSX
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Halted
- Last updated
- 2y ago
- Stars
- 85
- Contributors
- 3
- License
- GPL-2.0
- Engine
- SDL2
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesRequires asset files from original Tomb Raider games (TR1, TR2, TR3) to be placed in pak folder.
- Modding support
- —
| Title | OpenLara | OpenTomb | TRX | Tomb Engine | CroftEngine | OpenRaider |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Playable | Playable | Playable | Playable | Playable | Playable |
| Platforms | Web | Windows | Linux, OSX, Windows | Windows | Linux, Windows | Linux, OSX |
| Play in browser | YesPlay in Browser | No | No | No | No | |
| Mobile | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Project health | ||||||
| Development status | Active | Archived | Active | Active | Active | Halted |
| Last updated | 2mo ago | 2y ago | today | today | 3mo ago | 2y ago |
| Stars | 5,098 | 1,445 | 987 | 343 | 310 | 85 |
| Contributors | 57 | 29 | 31 | 39 | 29 | 3 |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | LGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 | — | — | GPL-2.0 |
| Engine | — | SDL2 | — | — | — | SDL2 |
| Compatibility | ||||||
| Requires original assets | — | YesRequires data folders and assets from original Tomb Raider games 1-5 or TRLE levels. | YesRequires legally obtained original Tomb Raider game disc images to run. | NoUses its own custom level editor and engine; no original game assets required. | YesRequires data files (AUDIO, DATA, FMV folders) from the original Tomb Raider 1 game. | YesRequires asset files from original Tomb Raider games (TR1, TR2, TR3) to be placed in pak folder. |
| Modding support | — | YesLua scripting engine for defining entity functionality and extensive modding potential. | — | YesSupports Lua scripting as the native scripting language for custom level creation. | — | — |
| Preview | | | | | |
Known limitations
- project_status: Project is inactive and no longer maintained.
- platform: Limited controller support; currently only included when building with SDL2.
Frequently asked questions
Are the Tomb Raider clones on this page open source?
Yes — every clone catalogued here is an open-source project. Availability, license, and development-status details for each one are listed in the comparison table above.
What license do these Tomb Raider clones use?
OpenLara (BSD-2-Clause); OpenTomb (LGPL-3.0); TRX (GPL-3.0); OpenRaider (GPL-2.0).
Do I need to own the original Tomb Raider to play these clones?
Tomb Engine runs standalone, no original files needed; OpenTomb, TRX, CroftEngine, and OpenRaider require original game assets to play.
Can I play any of these Tomb Raider clones directly in a browser?
Yes — OpenLara and OpenTomb have a browser-playable build linked in the comparison table above, no install required.
Which Tomb Raider clone is the most actively maintained?
OpenLara, TRX, Tomb Engine, and CroftEngine are currently under active development, based on recent commit activity. See the "Development status" row above for every clone's current status.
See the full write-up for each clone, or go back to Tomb Raider.