Rise of the Tomb Raider Exclusivity "Was A Difficult Decision"

The announcement of a Microsoft exclusive Tomb Raider title took many of us by surprise following its announcement at Gamescom 2014. In an interview with examiner.com, Square Enix CEO of Europe and the Americas, Phil Rogers, has discussed the thought process behind the decision to partner with Microsoft.

"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 longtime 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," Rogers said.

Rogers went on to add that the support of Microsoft and Phil Spencer was a determining factor in Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics' decision.

"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." 

"If you don’t know, Phil visits Crystal [Dynamics] every time he’s in the Bay Area. Phil is the most welcomed guest, he’ll come talk to the team, play the game and [Microsoft] is a very committed organization to our properties. It just makes it that much more exciting for us," he added.

Rise of the Tomb Raider is set to release for Xbox One and Xbox 360 on November 10th, with PS4 and PC releases slated for holiday 2016 and early 2016 respectively.