The announcement of the new Rise of the Tomb Raider, a continuation of the classic franchise fronted by leading lady Lara Croft, has had gamers a little bit outraged, since the game has been labeled as an Xbox exclusive since its announcement. Crystal Dynamics head Darrell Gallagher spoke out to fans, promising that the move wasn’t supposed to be a snub.
“As you may have seen, we’ve just announced that Rise of the Tomb Raider, coming Holiday 2015, is exclusively on Xbox,”
“We consider all of you to be the lifeblood of Tomb Raider and the work we do at Crystal. I’d like to give you some insight into this decision, and why we feel this is the very best thing for the Tomb Raider sequel we’re creating at the studio.
“Tomb Raider in 2013 was a success due in large part to your continued support. Our goal has always been to deliver something truly special with Rise of the Tomb Raider. Today’s announcement with Microsoft is one step to help us put Tomb Raider on top of action adventure gaming. Our friends at Microsoft have always seen huge potential in Tomb Raider and have believed in our vision since our first unveil with them on their stage at E3 2011. We know they will get behind this game more than any support we have had from them in the past – we believe this will be a step to really forging the Tomb Raider brand as one of the biggest in gaming, with the help, belief and backing of a major partner like Microsoft.”
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However, we’ve recently heard that the exclusivity deal might not be as permanent as it’s been billed as, with Playstation and PC gamers potentially seeing a release of the game as and when the exclusivity ‘timer’ runs out on Microsoft’s end.
“I have Tomb Raider shipping next holiday exclusively on Xbox,” Said Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox over at Microsoft, in an interview with Eurogamer following the gamer outcry over the exclusivity for such a prestigious tttle, most famously found on Playstation.
“It is Xbox 360 and Xbox One. I’m not trying to fake anybody out in terms of where this thing is. What they do with the franchise in the long run is not mine. I don’t control it.”
A floundering Spencer, when pressed by the good people at Eurogamer (kudos to them for sticking to their guns in the face of such an imposing industry head), eventually revealed that;
“Yes, the deal has a duration. I didn’t buy it. I don’t own the franchise.”
So, there you have it. Exclusivity might not be permanent for this amazing, well-hyped new entry into the Tomb Raider franchise. Hopefully we’ll even see it on PC. There’s some wishful thinking for you.
Source: Eurogamer