Square Enix admits it “knew Rise of the Tomb Raider exclusivity would disappoint fans”.
It seems the decision to make Rise of the Tomb Raider an Xbox One exclusive was a tough one for Square Enix.
But the decision was made on the belief that it will offer long-term benefits to the Tomb Raider series.
“I hope fans know it wasn’t an easy decision,” explained Square Enix CEO Phil Rogers to Examiner. “I think any sort of partnership at this level is a decision that took a long time to get to. The decision at a studio level, we took very, very seriously. WE knew it would, in the short term, disappoint fans.”
“What we saw in Microsoft, which is probably not as well known, is that Microsoft’s passion for Tomb Raider is amazing. Having been working with us on previous games in a lesser sense, they’ve been supportive. For Rise of the Tomb Raider, they’ve just bought this passion and belief that has really enabled us to blow people away.”
“People should feel that about Microsoft. Their commitment to Tomb Raider is just amazing for us.”
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You shouldn’t expect this to be the last Xbox One exclusive Tomb Raider either, as Square Enix is thinking long-term.
“We’re about growing our IP, this is a long-term decision. We’re going to take Tomb Raider up to the next level. With Microsoft’s belief, passion and sort of muscle to help us deliver, we really think this is going to be an awesome game that people will enjoy for years and years to come.”
News of Rise of the Tomb Raider’s Xbox One exclusivity was dropped at Gamescom 2014, with the timed nature of the exclusivity only coming out later.
Earlier this month we found out that Rise of the Tomb Raider will arrive on PC in early 2016, while the PS4 version won’t arrive until Q4 2016.
The Xbox One version is set for a November 10 release date.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
