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Square Enix knew Xbox exclusivity “would disappoint fans” with Rise of the Tomb Raider

Rise of the Tomb Raider

When Rise of the Tomb Raider was announced in August 2014, a massive sigh of disappointment was exhaled by PC gamers as they realised that the game was a timed exclusive to Microsoft’s Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles. Publisher Square Enix knew this would be the case, but pushed ahead with exclusivity thanks to Microsoft’s passion for the game. 

“I hope fans know that it wasn’t an easy decision,” said Phil Rogers, CEO of Europe and the Americas at Square Enix, to Examiner.com. “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.”

But Rogers felt that the support offered by Microsoft was worth it, ensuring that developer Crystal Dynamics has been able to make “an awesome game that people will enjoy for years and years to come.”

“What we saw in Microsoft, which is probably not as well known, is that Microsoft’s passion for Tomb Raider is amazing,” Rogers said. “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.”

Rise of the Tomb Raider releases on Xbox One and Xbox 360 on November 13th, and will release on PC in early 2016.

Thanks, Videogamer.com