There Is A New FAQ To Try And Quell the Rise Of The Tomb Raider Exclusivity

A few weeks back there was a huge stir as to if Rise Of The Tomb Raider was ever going to see the light of day on anything other than the Xbox One or Xbox 360 come the holiday season of 2015. The announcement of everything sure made it sound like it was not in the books at all that we would get to see the Tomb Raider again on the PS3, PS4, or PC. At least in the guise of the amazing reboot that Crystal Dynamics has already given all of the platforms out there. That was until an interview where Phil Spencer (Head of Microsoft Studios) tried to clear things up but didn't do all that much to appease all of the fans who might be missing out on Rise Of The Tomb Raider.

Well, wonder no more as there is now an answer to all that Rise Of The Tomb Raider speculation via the game's Tumblr page via an FAQ posting. This should be the definitive answers we are looking for much like the best version of Crystal Dynamic's best version of Tomb Raider that released at the beginning of this year. Let us take a look at it and get all cleared up on if or when we may see Rise Of The Tomb Raider not only on Xbox.

  1. What does exclusive to Xbox mean?

    It means that Rise of the Tomb Raider is coming Holiday 2015 exclusively on Xbox One and Xbox 360.

  2. Does the exclusive to Xbox have a duration? Is it timed? How long is the duration? Can we expect a PlayStation 4 or PC release in the future?

    Yes, our deal with Microsoft has a duration. We aren’t discussing details of the deal, and are focused on delivering a great game on Xbox One and Xbox 360.

  3. Did Crystal Dynamics know about this deal?

    Yes, Crystal Dynamics is excited to be partnering with Microsoft to make the best game possible. As Darrell mentioned in his message, we have a long history with Microsoft and they have been a very strong supporter of the franchise. They will help us grow and nurture the Tomb Raider franchise more than ever before.

  4. Were the fans considered when making this decision? Are Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix aware of the franchise history with PlayStation and on PC?

    Of course. We did not make this decision lightly. Our goal is to build the best game that we possibly can, and our relationship with Microsoft will help us realize our vision for the game.

  5. Why didn't Microsoft, Square Enix or Crystal Dynamics say upfront it was a timed exclusive? Why all the indirect language?

    We certainly didn't intend to cause any confusion with the announcement. The Microsoft Gamescom stage was a great place to make the initial announcement, but not necessarily to go into details.

Source

So that did about nothing to clear up what all of the non-Xbox gamers wanted to know about Rise Of The Tomb Raider. They "didn't intend to cause any confusion" yet when asked directly there is still no Yes or No as to if Rise Of The Tomb Raider could come to other platforms whenever their deal is over with Microsoft. Also, not causing confusion would have been claiming "Timed Exclusive" instead of saying "Exclusive To" if they didn't really mean it. I really hate the whole PR bullshit spinning to try and save face but not violate the tenants of whatever agreement they may have. I'm pretty sure there isn't anything in the deal that states that Crystal Dynamics or Square Enix can't even state that Rise Of The Tomb Raider may be coming to other platforms at a later date.

None the less I think this will all boil down to how well Rise Of The Tomb Raider sells only on Xbox. If I had to take a stab in the dark I'm guessing that part of the Microsoft deal has something to do with number of sales and if they are low then the exclusivity clause will be lifted. Something to the likes. That is roughly what happened to Mass Effect. Now we all have that game to enjoy even though some of us had to wait a good chunk of time to get our hands on it. I just hope that won't be the full case for Rise Of The Tomb Raider.