Rise of the Tomb Raider exclusive to Xbox One
Microsoft snaps up Lara's return in holiday 2015. Does not appear to be timed.
Microsoft has announced that Rise of the Tomb Raider, the sequel to last year's reboot of the famous action adventure series, will launch exclusively on Xbox One in late 2015.
This is not a timed exclusive, but a genuine one, as confirmed by Crystal Dynamics head Darrell Gallagher on the Tomb Raider tumblr. "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," he writes. "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.
"This doesn't mean that we're walking away from our fans who only play on PlayStation or on PC. Those are great systems, with great partners, and amazing communities. We have Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris coming to those platforms this December, and Tomb Raider: The Definitive Edition is available on PS4."
Genuine third-party exclusives are rare as hen's teeth these days, so the deal with publisher Square Enix - announced on stage by Microsoft's Phil Harrison - represents a considerable coup for the platform holder.
It's also worth noting that this deal will pit Rise of the Tomb Raider's release on Xbox One up against Uncharted 4 on PS4 in the same timeframe.
