Rise of the Tomb Raider Boss Talks Xbox Exclusivity

The fact that upcoming action-adventure game Rise of the Tomb Raider is a timed Xbox exclusive has certainly ruffled some feathers. But this was expected, according to Square Enix Americas CEO Phil Rogers. He says in a new interview that the company expected some initial blowback about the deal.

"I hope fans know that it wasn't an easy decision," Rogers said in an interview with Examiner. "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."

Part of the reason why some fans were irked by the Xbox exclusivity announcement was that the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot was a multiplatform game right from the start. Rise of the Tomb Raider, meanwhile, is exclusive to Xbox One and Xbox 360 for quite a while. The game launches first for Xbox platforms in November 2015, and then comes to PC in early 2016 and PlayStation 4 during holiday 2016.

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Rise of the Tomb Raider - E3 2015 Stage Demo

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Rogers went on to say that part of the reason Square Enix was eager to align with Microsoft for Rise of the Tomb Raider comes down to the company's "passion" for the Tomb Raider franchise overall.

"Having been working with us on previous games in a lesser sense, they've been supportive," he said about Microsoft. "[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."

Rogers went on to say that Xbox boss Phil Spencer personally visits Rise of the Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics every time he's in the Bay Area of San Francisco, which is where the studio is located.

Microsoft is partnering with Square Enix for Rise of the Tomb Raider in a big way, as the company is actually serving as the game's publisher. That means Microsoft will handle marketing and distribution.

The Rise of the Tomb Raider release date is locked in for November 10--the same day Fallout 4 arrives. For a closer look at Rise of the Tomb Raider, check out some images in the gallery below.