'Rise of the Tomb Raider' Release Date: Microsoft to Launch Game Holiday 2015
It has been revealed that Microsoft will be publishing Square Enix game "Rise of the Tomb Raider" for the Xbox One and Xbox 360.
The news was confirmed via a tweet by Xbox marketing manager Aaron Greenberg, who simply wrote, "Yes we are publishing Rise of the Tomb Raider."
Microsoft first announced in August that they will be releasing "Rise of the Tomb Raider" for a limited time only and exclusively on Xbox One consoles. Now, both Microsoft and Square Enix have revealed that the Lara Croft game will be hitting stores as a "holiday 2015 exclusive."
A Square Enix representative also told GameSpot that Microsoft will be responsible for supporting the entire development and publishing process. Both parties have not commented though on whether or not their partnership could lead to a PlayStation 4 release.
Square Enix also released a statement about Microsoft saying, "Microsoft has always seen huge potential in Tomb Raider and they will get behind this game with more support across development, marketing and retail than ever before."
The statement also said that they are confident the partnership with Microsoft will help them make "Rise of the Tomb Raider" and the entire "Tomb Raider" franchise one of the biggest games and franchises in the industry."
However, Microsoft and Square Enix's partnership is causing confusion for some on the future of the game, especially if it will be released on other consoles.
Crystal Dynamics, which is owned by Square Enix, clarified the news by saying that the partnership is temporary and a timed-exclusive. They also claimed the decision was not made lightly, but both parties were not discussing a release to other consoles as their main focus was on releasing "Rise of the Tomb Raider" to Xbox One and Xbox 360.
"Our goal is to build the best game that we possibly can and our relationship with Microsoft will help us realize our vision for the game," Crystal claimed.