Microsoft has announced that Rise of the Tomb Raider, the follow-up to 2013’s well received reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise, will now release “Holiday 2015” exclusively on Xbox One.

The announcement came as part of Microsoft’s press briefing at the 2014 Gamescom event, Europe’s largest convention of gaming publishers and developers. (For those unfamiliar, Gamescom is like a European E3, and has been growing substantially in attendance and influence over the past few years.)

The news quickly generated speculation that Rise of the Tomb Raider will eventually make it out onto other platforms, and that the title is exclusive to Xbox One only during the holiday 2015 time frame. Geoff Keighley posted via Twitter that Microsoft ‘was not publishing the game” [Rise of the Tomb Raider] and that “the official line is that the game is exclusive on Xbox One for holiday 2015.“

Crystal Dynamics Head of Studio’s; Darrell Gallagher took to Tumblr to try and put the conjecture to rest, and explain why the studio had decided to team with Microsoft.

“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.

Lara Croft is shocked to discover that she won’t be appearing on PS4 or PC…

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.”

As expected, some fans have been quite vocal about their opposition to the exclusive deal, with some going so far as to create a petition on Change.org requesting that Crystal Dynamics rescind their deal with Microsoft.

While we ultimately don’t know if Rise of the Tomb Raider will ever end up on other platforms; for the time being, the only place you will be able to play it will be on Xbox One.

You can check out the complete Microsoft Gamescom 2014 Press briefing below:

Written by The Watchman

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