Top Games You Didn’t Know Were Developed In The UK

The Tomb Raider action-adventure games have become a staple of the genre. Its protagonist, Lara Croft, has become one of the most iconic video game protagonists, though some controversy has been raised over the years due to the usage of her sex appeal in order to appeal to a wider market of players. After the immensely successful release of the first game in 1996, British game developer Core Design were prompted to develop the many sequels that followed the original. The games are owned and published by Square Enix Europe. Today, the Tomb Raider games have sold over 88 million copies and the franchise itself is worth over £1 billion.

While the Grand Theft Auto franchise is owned by Rockstar, which is technically a North American company, the Grand Theft Auto games are actually developed in the United Kingdom. Indeed, Grand Theft Auto or ‘GTA’ as it is known among fans was created and developed by Brits in British studios by a British company with British directors. The branch of Rockstar which developed the games is Rockstar North, which is based in Scotland. In 2013, Grand Theft Auto V became Scotland’s largest cultural export ever after taking in more than £1 billion in sales.

The classically British roleplaying game series Fable is developed by the British game developer Lionhead Studios, which was founded by Peter Molyneux. It takes place in the fictional fantasy land of Albion, which is an old name for Britain used during the era of the Romans. While the first Fable was met with mixed reception and success from audiences, Fable II was a huge critical and commercial success, and is considered a cult classic by many RPG fans to date. The franchise has made over £200 million in 2022.

Releasing on the Nintendo 64 in 1997, Goldeneye 007 is a classic that is all but forgotten by many gamers of today. However, what is certain is that while the game may have faded into obscurity, its legacy is still very much relevant as it set the foundation for the first-person shooter genre which is so prevalent in the games industry today. The likes of Call of Duty, Halo, Battlefield and others were heavily influenced by this game.

The Lego Star Wars video game franchise was developed by Traveller’s Tales, a British game developer which has developed every Lego title to date including Lego Indiana Jones and Lego Harry Potter games. Now spanning five critically acclaimed games, including the recent release The Skywalker Saga which covers all nine movies, the Lego Star Wars games are fondly looked upon by gamers both young and old for their fun, casual gameplay and their creative sense of humour. In its first two weeks of release, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga sold over 3.2 million units worldwide.

Developed by British game studio Creative Assembly, the long, ongoing Total War franchise has you take control of a military commander often within a historical period like Ancient Rome, feudal Japan, Medieval Europe and even with some trips into fantasy realms such as Warhammer. In these turn-based strategy games you take control of your own army as you go about asserting your control over the landmass in which you struggle for dominance with other warring nations. As of last year, the franchise has sold over 36 million copies.