Peter Connelly (born 8 September 1972) is a British video game composer and sound designer, best known for his work on the Tomb Raider series. He has been part of several video game releases working mainly with Core Design, Eutechnyx and Ubisoft.

As part of Core Design in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he composed the soundtracks for Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation (1999) and Tomb Raider: Chronicles (2000), and co-composed Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness (2003). Connelly has also contributed to numerous other video game projects, including work on titles such as Driver: San Francisco (2011), Watch Dogs (2014), The Crew (2014), and South Park: The Fractured but Whole (2017) in audio design roles.

Connelly hails from the North East of England and is based in Newcastle upon Tyne. He developed an interest in music from a young age – his family was musical, and his father, who played in a band, introduced him to the songwriting of Burt Bacharach, which Connelly cites as a major early inspiration. During his school years, he learned multiple instruments; he was classically trained on the cello, guitar, and piano.

Connelly went on to pursue formal studies in music technology. He attended Newcastle College and earned an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) followed by a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Music Technology. This combination of classical instrumental training and technical education laid the groundwork for his career in composing and sound design.

Connelly began his career in the video game industry in the mid-1990s, initially performing both music composition and sound effects duties as was common at the time. In September 1998, he joined Core Design (then a Derby-based studio under Eidos Interactive) as part of the audio team. His first involvement with the Tomb Raider franchise was on Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft (1998), for which he provided additional sound design.

He soon took on a larger role as a composer for the series. Connelly composed the score for Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, released in 1999, taking over from the previous composer Nathan McCree and expanding on the musical themes of the earlier games. He continued in this capacity with Tomb Raider: Chronicles (2000), for which he wrote the soundtrack and designed audio effects. In these projects, Connelly’s music helped shape a darker and more atmospheric tone for the games, complementing their evolving narrative.

Connelly’s most ambitious Tomb Raider project was Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness (2003). He co-composed the Angel of Darkness score together with Martin Iveson. It was the first time a Tomb Raider game had a full live orchestral score. Connelly later recounted that working with the LSO at Abbey Road was a dream come true and a milestone in his career. Despite Angel of Darkness receiving mixed reviews as a game, its music was widely praised; Connelly noted that the score was “incredibly well received” by fans and remains a memorable aspect of the title.

During his tenure at Core Design, Connelly also contributed music and sound to other games the studio developed. Notably, he scored the fantasy adventure Herdy Gerdy (2002) alongside Martin Iveson, and worked on the audio for the puzzle-action game Smart Bomb (2005) and the freerunning-themed game Free Running (2007). By the time Core Design’s original run of Tomb Raider titles concluded, Connelly had firmly established himself in the industry as a leading composer and sound designer.