The Royal Mail has officially announced a new collection of stamps with a focus on retro video games spanning from the 1980s and 1990s. The collection of stamps celebrates UK-designed video games that we all know and love. This includes 12 stamps, 4 of those being Tomb Raider-themed.The official Royal Mail Twitter tweeted out that the stamps were announced today and Ukie has confirmed that they had a helping hand in the process. Ukie links to The Sun who includes a quote from Philip Parker from the Royal Mail.

"The UK has been at the forefront of the video games industry for decades."

"In the 1980s and 90s young designers grappled with coding on the new microcomputers and set the template for the industry with iconic games."

"We celebrate some of their landmark creations on stamps."

Ukie chief executive Dr. Jo Twist was also quoted to say. "This collection celebrates a selection of the great British video games that have helped define both the national and global development scene over decades," They also add "Video games are a key part of our cultural footprint and we're pleased to see their contribution recognized in such memorable style."

The Tomb Raider stamps come in the form of a miniature sheet showing the Atlantean Scion level from the 1996 Tomb Raider.  Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft from 1998 shows the Ora Dagger level,  The Philosopher's Stone level is featured for  Tomb Raider Chronicles from the year 2000, and the 2013 version of Tomb Raider shows the Ceremonial Dagger level.

royal mail stamps

The special stamps that are also available provide a more diverse collection of games from different retro consoles, these being:

  • Elite from the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron computer from 1984.
  • Dizzy from 1987 which was on the ZX Spectrum.
  • Populous which launched on the Commodore Amiga in 1989.
  • Lemmings, which arrived on the Commodore Amiga in 1991.
  • Micro Machines landed on the Sega Mega Drive in 1991.
  • Sensible Soccer was in 1992 on the Commodore Amiga.
  • Wipeout launched on the Sony PlayStation in 1995.
  • Worms wriggled onto the Commodore Amiga in 1995.
royal mail stamps

Those who may want to grab all of the stamps can grab the Video Games Presentation Pack which includes all 12 stamps. There's also a framed edition which only includes the 8 special stamps within a black frame.

There is also a Tomb Raider Collector's Sheet which includes 10 miniature sheet stamps of Lara Croft in action across all of the games from 1996 to 2018.

royal mail stamps

For fans who may want something more, there's also a Limited Edition Gamer Collectors Pack and comes with a silver case which includes a certificate of authenticity, signed by the director of Royal Mail stamps and collectibles, Matthew Parker.

On the website, there are numerous types of editions that include the special stamps, such as postcard versions of the stamps, and even a Video Games First Day branded envelope. It's certainly a nice way to pay homage to the oldies of video games, and I'm surprised to see the 2013 Tomb Raider included instead of an older title. Still, I look forward to getting mail and hoping to see these special stamps on the envelope, that is if the sender can bring themselves to part with them.

The stamps are all available to pre-order and will become available on January 21, 2020.