Did Nike Just Reveal A Tomb Raider-Inspired Air Max 1 ‘Low Poly’ Sneaker?

Nike’s latest Air Max 1 sneaker drop looks like it's inspired by Lara Croft but with a modern, pixelated twist.

Nike isn’t shy about fusing nostalgia with sneaker culture, and their latest Air Max 1 Low Poly design might be channelling one of gaming’s biggest heroines—Lara Croft. Fresh off the reveal of the Donkey Kong-inspired Air Max 1 Low Poly during All-Star Weekend, Nike footwear designer Bryce Wong has shared a new colorway that looks like something inspired by Tomb Raider.

If you have a keen eye for detail (or if you simply squint), the color scheme looks very much like that of Lara Croft’s signature outfit. The sneaker’s dark green mudguards match the polygonal Swoosh and tongue label—clear nods to Croft’s tank top—while the neutral gray base of the sneaker pixelates into a white toe box.

tomb raider nike Air Max 1 Low Poly sneaker — Image Credit: @bbbrycewong

Nike’s digital push and sneaker culture have been moving closer together. The .SWOOSH initiative has been revealing and reinforcing that direction. This Air Max 1 Low Poly design is the latest OTTO offering, and it mimics what we’ve seen with low-poly, first-generation 3D graphics. (If you’re unclear what that means, think about the look of the Tomb Raider games from the late ’90s.) Pixelated overlays across the upper, heel, and toe box have that low-poly look.

Lara Croft is still a gaming icon. She has not only been the star of a long-running and successful franchise, but she has also been a big-screen presence, portrayed by Angelina Jolie and Alicia Vikander, in the Tomb Raider movies. Last year, Tomb Raider I (1996), Tomb Raider II (1997) and Tomb Raider III (1998) had their visual quality upgraded for modern consoles. And we can expect Tomb Raider IV–VI Remastered before 2025 is over.

An announcement of an official release date can be made at any time. But for now, we await word on when the Nike Air Max 1 Low Poly Tomb Raider is set to hit stores, presumably very soon. Until then, we await updates as eagerly as one might await news of a gate being opened after one has just been successfully inverted.