Wow! Microsoft just announced that Rise of the Tomb Raider, announced earlier this year at E3, will be an Xbox exclusive out Christmas 2015.
Rise of the Tomb Raider, developed by Crystal Dynamics, will be a sequel to last year’s Tomb Raider reboot. Publisher Square Enix announced the game at this year’s Xbox E3 conference (trailer below), but we all kinda assumed that it’d be a multiplatform game. We assumed WRONG.
Here’s Crystal Dynamics explaining what’s up:
Dear Tomb Raider Community,
As you may have seen, we’ve just announced that Rise of the Tomb Raider, coming Holiday 2015, is exclusively on Xbox. We consider all of you to be the lifeblood of Tomb Raider and the work we do at Crystal. I’d like to give you some insight into this decision, and why we feel this is the very best thing for the Tomb Raider sequel we’re creating at the studio.
Tomb Raider in 2013 was a success due in large part to your continued support. Our goal has always been to deliver something truly special with Rise of the Tomb Raider. Today’s announcement with Microsoft is one step to help us put Tomb Raider on top of action adventure gaming. Our friends at Microsoft have always seen huge potential in Tomb Raider and have believed in our vision since our first unveil with them on their stage at E3 2011. We know they will get behind this game more than any support we have had from them in the past – we believe this will be a step to really forging the Tomb Raider brand as one of the biggest in gaming, with the help, belief and backing of a major partner like Microsoft.
This doesn’t mean that we’re walking away from our fans who only play on PlayStation or on PC. Those are great systems, with great partners, and amazing communities. We have Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris coming to those platforms this December, and Tomb Raider: The Definitive Edition is available on PS4.
We know that there are probably many more questions and concerns. Please do send them to us, and we’ll answer to the best of our ability. Meanwhile we’re going all out to try and make something truly special – the most ambitious Tomb Raider game ever built.
Thanks,
Darrell Gallagher
Crystal Dynamics Head of Studios
Comments
67 responses to “The Next Tomb Raider Is An Xbox Exclusive”
Well…….that sucks. Actually no, I’m going to look on the bright side here that I now have enough reasons to buy an Xbone. My wife will be pleased.
Uncharted 2015 holiday release. Tomb Raider 2015 holiday release, Xbone exclusive. MS are trying to fight uncharted. They must have thrown mountains of cash at Square Enix to do this. I liked tomb raider but it doesn’t hold a candle to any of the uncharted series.
Doesn’t look like it will be exclusive for long though, by the time you finish Uncharted, the PS4 TR will probably be out.
It’s all ’bout the money
It’s all ’bout the dum dum…….
And I don’t think It’s funny!!! ♩ ♫
Was I the only one that already assumed that the game was Xbox exclusive after that E3 conference? It always seemed like Microsoft’s way to challenge Uncharted.
Well looks like we have a full blown war on our hands…
Gentlemen – start your consoles…
I like the reboot of Tomb Raider, but it just wasnt anything special. This is not even close enough to making me get an Xbone.
For starters, I got Uncharted 4 coming out next year, which will no doubt be Game of the Year and tons better then Tomb Raider.
Their isnt a game in the world that could make me get an Xbox. That would make me one of the idiots who buys an xbone only getting stung down the track.
at least it has had games come out…..
I want to pick up a ps4 but there is literally nothing worth playing on it right now. Infamous was boring after a couple of hours and everything else that’s any decent is multi platform.
I don’t understand the mindset of people who say they will never buy a certain console regardless of what comes out for it, as a gamer you have to buy what has the good games. Right now that’s the xbox one, next year the ps4 should have some good games which is when I’ll pick that up. Limiting yourself to one brand is just silly.
I was going to get a PS4 but opted for a 2nd xbox one, neither has enough exclusives to make me want to own both but the fact I can double up on games with one purchase.
This is purely based on the demise of split screen games and the fact My wife also plays with me and I have 4 kids.
We are both hanging out for Destiny 🙂 we even got to double up on the beta so we both played off one code 🙂
I don’t know you but I’m sure I’d hate you if I ever met you.
I won’t get into a debate. If you research, history will tell you Sony always comes out on top of its competition in regards to games
not really, I wouldn’t look at it from the end of a generation. Maybe if you only buy one console. Being in my mid 20’s and having a relatively high level of disposable income I would rather buy the console that has games now and in the short term then pick up the one that has no games but has franchises I know will come out at some point when they actually release them.
Fanboi much?
I think Tomb Raider reboot was better than any Uncharted I played (all 3) I enjoyed Uncharted but Tomb Raider was more brutal, had more RPG elements like the perks and skills and the ability to upgrade weapons, I played UC3 straight after finishing TR and it felt a bit meh compared.
Totally disagree. I don’t think simply having more or being darker makes for a better game. Uncharted is subtle, nuanced, well-directed, structured and infinitely better written. Tomb Raider was great but Uncharted is just a prime example of beautiful design, it just didn’t have the same aspirations that TR did, it had totally different priorities.
They were both good. Both were better than the other in one way or another.
Tomb raider was more brutal etc, Uncharted was better crafted and more cinematic.
Just because Tomb Raider is now exclusive doesn’t mean we should use it to throw shit at people who don’t own an xbox.
Besides, just because you like uncharted doesn’t mean you cant like Tomb raider. The reboot on PlayStations out sold the xbox versions 2:1. And I don’t think the loyal fans are going to swap consoles for it. They feel betrayed not swayed.
Dick move by all involved. Let’s just not fling shit over this one. Ok?
I will own both consoles soon and I will buy UC4.
Thats fine, never implied you wouldn’t. Just that A) They are different games tonally, and B) Just because Tomb Raider is now an exclusive, doesn’t mean we should immediately start comparing them as a part of the flame war.
Get off your high horse mate, this is an article about Tomb Raider and the first thing I see is “I liked tomb raider but it doesn’t hold a candle to any of the uncharted series.” and “I like the reboot of Tomb Raider, but it just wasnt anything special, I got Uncharted 4 coming out next year, which will no doubt be Game of the Year and tons better then Tomb Raider”
I didn’t say any of those things… In fact I say that they are both good:
I don’t think that the guys saying those things about Uncharted (Or Tomb Raider) are doing the right thing either. That was the whole point of my post on your comment! Sorry that I chose your comment to say something on. Gosh. I’m not even against you. If anything, I agree. Get off your defensive horse mate.
Way to write a cheque Microsoft.
Well that killed my Interest.
………………………………
I’m a huge fan of the Tomb Raider series and loves every minute of Tomb Raider last year and was greatly anticipation the next one………but now I won’t get to play it which saddens me greatly.
“we believe this will be a step to really forging the Tomb Raider brand as one of the biggest in gaming” Its very hard to do so on one console with a game series that just hasn’t really performed greatly all that much, good luck to them I hope they decide to release it on other platforms at a later date and this isn’t as huge a mistake as I feel it is.
“Those are great systems, with great partners, and amazing communities, but Microsoft threw a mountain of money at us so f**k them, we don’t actually care about any one who plays them.”
I was really looking forward to this game too, ugh this is actually the stupidest thing.
Actually, the more I think about it the more annoyingly stupid a decision like this is. The game was always assumed to be cross platform since E3, so they’re not increasing their Xbone market share because those people would have already bought the game. All they’re doing is short shifting themselves by decreasing the amount of units they’re going to shift because now PC and Playstation gamers won’t be able to get the game. And if Microsoft thinks this is going to see them a massive upswing in the sale of their consoles they’re dreaming.
I still don’t have a next gen (current gen???) console but I can still guarantee this won’t make me buy an Xbone because the PS4 exclusives I’m looking forward to are ones that started on the playstation and weren’t poached by a company who just wants to throw money around and piss off consumers instead of developing their own original, exclusive content.
I’m really not a fan of the console makers “buying” exclusives, MS or Sony
I think if they want exclusives, make them themselves
Dude, if all third party games were multiplatform for all consoles and only first and second party games were to be exclusive, we would all own Wii Us!
We would all own PC’s :oD
Aw, I’m disappointed. :'(
Don’t worry, on the plus side it shows how desperate micro SOFT are… Desperate people do some amazing things. Mostly bad things, but… meh.
well… massive fan of the TR series start to finish. this is just a giant kick in the daddy bags. “We have Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris coming” thats nice i have 0 interest in that title, its not even a TR title just a mock up.
man this bums me out.
Congratulations for pissing away all of the goodwill the reboot generated.
Poor decision.
I liked the Tomb Raider reboot, put over 60 hours into it; i expect the game to be good but not good enough to warrent buying a xbone…. Looks like I won’t be playing the sequel until they come to their senses and release it on PC.
The exclusivity sucks but that’s not what I want to discuss.
They really couldn’t come up with a better title than that? Previous ‘Rise of’ titles that have left a bad impression include the Silver Surfer, Cobra, the Guardians and Electro.
Ooh us PS4 guys still get the Definitive edition with real hair ponytail physics. I hear it completely changes the experience!!!
Meh. As an owner of both the ps4 and x1 I couldn’t care less what system gets an exclusive. I invested in both so that it wouldn’t matter which system got this or that exclusive.
Despite selling well, Square Enix were disappointed from a financial point of view with the previous game. Funny to see part of the solution is to halve the audience. Weird.
Especially seing that, if you check the sales figures for the reboot, most the people buying were on PlayStations. The xbox 1 was the worst selling version.
All they’ve done is stab fans in the back. A franchise that has been multiplatform since the ps1 just got bought out. It’s the worst type of exclusive content and a dick move by Ms and square. Look on all these articles. Most the comments are saying that they have lost interest in Tomb Raider and any good feelings towards it. I don’t think that’s the effect Ms wanted.
Edit: Here are the stats:
Reboot sales according to VGChartz (no digital sales).
PS3 – 2.22m
360 – 1.71m
PS4 – 460k
PC – 270k
Xbone – 170k
There’s not to much difference between those PS3 and 360 figures and that’s even if VGchartz is accurate .
I think that the PlayStation family vs xbox family is the comparison that stands out. (I don’t think comparing ps4 to x1 would be fair.)
I’m betting it’ll be a timed exclusive, with a 1080p edition coming a year later.
So, to get to the top, they abandon well over half the gaming community.
Sounds legit.
Dear Square Enix,Blow me
Regards,
The gaming community.
Maybe they are saving money by making it for a crappy console
and by that, they mean Microsoft wrote a big fat cheque.
Which is absolutely true, and will continue to be true every single day … until they announce they new Uncharted game.
Once again, referencing that fat-ass cheque
Seriously, Microsoft wrote a cheque so fat, it wears a Hawaiian shirt.
Well let’s be honest, that’s not that hard.
LOL, nice post
Now you PS owners know how I felt when Metal Gear Solid 4 is only on PS3. I still havent played that dam game and Metal Gear is what got me into gaming.
Yeah that was pretty bad
Won’t be buying it. It will run on definitive engine and only 30fps locked to Xbox One. I can wait for it to release on other console since I will be playing Destiny -> Halo Master Chief Collection -> Dragon Age Inquisition -> Witcher 3. Plenty more games in between and after to fill up the slot while waiting.
Very bad move by Crystal Dynamics. Don’t even know why they bother choosing the platform with 50% less sales.
[citation needed]
Really? You have to be so ignorant about Xbox One’s bad sales figure that you refuse to google?
http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/187371-ps4-outselling-the-xbox-one-3-to-1-as-total-sales-gap-grows-to-9-million-vs-5-million
okay okay, settle petal. You didn’t say whether you were referring to console sales, or sales of the previous Tomb Raider title, or title sales compared to another title. A little more information would’ve been a bit nice.
If you check games sales the xbox1 version sold the least. I’ll go get figures for you, seeing as you can’t. Brb.
as I said, I didn’t know if Letrico was saying 50% less sales on hardware or software.
Geeze you people are quick on the attack for a simple request for clarification
“Reboot sales according to VGChartz (no digital sales).
PS3 – 2.22m
360 – 1.71m
PS4 – 460k
PC – 270k
Xbone – 170k”
So he meant both I guess.
Reboot sales according to VGChartz (no digital sales).
PS3 – 2.22m
360 – 1.71m
PS4 – 460k
PC – 270k
Xbone – 170k
This is terrible. Square better not come out and say how disappointing the sales are after taking this deal to keep it off other platforms.
Also the Uncharted vs Tomb Raider comparisons. Tomb Raider 2013 had great game play but the story was arse. Uncharted has the best story but weaker game play. It could be due to the fact that I suck with shooters on consoles.
“We just don’t get it, we spend a hundred million developing this game to make it the best thing we’ve ever done, we release it exclusively on the nokia ngage, spend half a billion dollars on the marketing and still only sell 2 copies!“
When you see the word exclusive with a developer that isn’t at least part owned by the console manufacturer, it’s probably safe to assume you can add the word “timed” in front of it. My bet is we’ll see a cross platform game of the definitive master chief remastered ultimate year collection edition in 6-12 months
I don’t see logically how this is a good move for sales. I assume that this deal was stitched up before the release of PS4 & XB1. Unless MS poured a huge amount of money to compensate the lost sales from PS4
My guess is MS is paying a huge chunk of the development costs. That means that S.E. Will be converting those sales into profit a lot sooner than the original
Coming to PC and PS4 a couple months after that.
yeah, that’d be my guess too. Timed exclusivity I totally get, but to cut off a whole platform is crazy-talk, regardless of what company you are.
Can’t the peasants just fight this out? Why make those of us in the master race suffer because of their tard fights over their little gaming machines?
I was looking forward to this, but I guess now I will have to wait to see if it comes out on PC at a later date.
If the last game despite success didn’t make any money. If the redux version sold twice as much on PS4 as Xbone. Why just do an exclusive? It can’t be that much money. Ryse: Son of Rome destroyed Crytek as a studio by just being an exclusive. If MS wouldn’t pay them enough, then I am sure they aren’t paying these people enough either.
ever thought that “those of us in the master race” also happen to own a console as well?
I think Crytek destroyed themselves with tripe like Warface
I’m hoping it’s timed exclusive as well? I have the first game on PC and would love to get this on PC as well (not because “it’s the master race” crap….but I just want it on PC – and yes I own a PS4)
So TR sold over 6.5 million units worldwide (inlcuding the Definitive Edition)…If this stays as a Xbone Exclusive Title (not a timed one)…it will not sell well (Forza 5 for example has only sold around 1.7 million units to date
The word “exclusive” has been thrown around a lot this past gen. But games like Mass Effect, Bioshock even the Destiny beta ended up back flipping and became present on all formats.
Give it a few months after release and I think we’ll see the same here.