Rise of the Tomb Raider Timed Exclusivity “Wasn’t Easy Decision” – Square Enix

The controversy surrounding the timed exclusivity of Crystal Dynamics’ Rise of the Tomb Raider continues, especially following the announcement of the PS4 release happening one year after the Xbox 360 and Xbox One versions are out. Square Enix America CEO Phil Rogers spoke about the deal in question to Examiner and along with offering his reasoning behind it, admitted that fans wouldn’t initially be happy with it.

“I hope fans know that it wasn’t an easy decision. I think any sort of partnership at this level is a decision that took a long time for us to get to. The decision at a studio level, we took very, very seriously. We knew it would, in the short-term, disappoint fans.”

The reason for the partnership with Microsoft – which will be marketing, distributing and publishing the game on its consoles – has mostly to do with its passion. As Rogers states, “Having been working with us on previous games in a lesser sense, they’ve been supportive. [However], for Rise of the Tomb Raider, they’ve just brought 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.”

The commitment is such that Phil Spencer, head of the Xbox division, visits Crystal Dynamics at its offices in Bay Area, San Francisco whenever he’s around. Despite the timed exclusivity deal, it at least seems that Square Enix is working to ensure that the follow-up is a success.

Rise of the Tomb Raider releases on November 10th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Stay tuned for more details as we approach its release.