Square Enix CEO: “Microsoft’s Passion For Tomb Raider Is Amazing,” Says Exclusivity Deal is “A Long-Term Decision”

Gamescom 2014 featured the announcement of Rise of the Tomb Raider and Microsoft revealed that Xbox One will be getting the game as a timed-exclusivity. Although recently we saw the release dates for the PS4 and PC editions which will release a whole year later.

Square Enix CEO of the Americas and Europe Phil Rogers commented (via Examiner) on why they chose and agreed to Microsoft’s timed-exclusivity deal regarding Rise of the Tomb Raider. Rogers continued saying that he knew this decision will “in the short-term, disappoint fans” but this will allow Tomb Raider’s IP to grow even further in the “long-term”

“I hope fans know that it wasn’t an easy decision. I think any sort of partnership at this level is a decision that took a longtime 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 says.
“What we saw in Microsoft, which is probably not as well known, is that Microsoft’s passion for Tomb Raider is amazing. Having been working with us on previous games in a lesser sense, they’ve been supportive. [However], for Rise of the Tomb Raider, they’ve just brought this passion and belief that has really enabled us to blow people away.”

“It becomes the most important thing. We’re about growing our IP, this is a long-term decision. We’re going to take Tomb Raider up to the next level. With Microsoft’s belief, passion and sort of muscle to help us deliver, we really think this is going to be an awesome game that people will enjoy for years and years to come.”

He also mentioned that whenever Xbox boss Phil Spencer is near the Bay Area, he goes to Crystal Dynamics to try their games out which shows Microsoft’s passion towards their products.

“If you don’t know, Phil visits Crystal [Dynamics] every time he’s in the Bay Area. Phil is the most welcomed guest, he’ll come talk to the team, play the game and [Microsoft] is a very committed organization to our properties. It just makes it that much more exciting for us,” Rogers said.

Rise of the Tomb Raider will launch on Nov. 10 for Xbox One and Xbox 360 as for the PS4 and PC, they will be getting the game in late 2016.