“I hope fans know that it wasn’t an easy decision.”
That’s what Square Enix America CEO Phil Rogers said regarding the controversial timed-exclusivity deal the company has with Microsoft for the upcoming title Rise of the Tomb Raider.
“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.”
Rogers explained the company expected fans to be upset, but ultimately said the decision to partner with Microsoft was based on the company’s “passion” for the series, noting the head of Microsoft Phil Spencer visits the game’s developer, Crystal Dynamics, whenever he’s in the studio’s home of the Bay of San Francisco.
“Having been working with us on previous games in a lesser sense, they’ve been supportive,” he said about Microsoft. “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.”
Rise of the Tomb Raider is set to come to Xbox One and Xbox 360 on November 10 with Square Enix recently revealing the title will be making its way to PC and PS4 in 2016. Let us know below what your plans are to tackle Rise of the Tomb Raider – where will you be playing as Lara Croft?