14 DAY TRIAL // Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light will be a four-week Xbox Live Arcade exclusive, according to Karl Stewart, director at Crystal Dynamics. It seems that Microsoft required a certain window of exclusivity to allow the title's release in the highly successful Summer of Arcade promotion. After the four weeks have passed the latest game in the Tomb Raider series will be released on the PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Network and on the PC via Steam.
Asked by Eurogamer if there was a chance that Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light will be launched at the same time on all three platforms, Stewart replied, “No. The agreement with Microsoft is, in order to participate in their hugely successful Summer of Arcade promotion there is a window of exclusivity. That window of exclusivity is a set four weeks.”
About the release date on the PC and the PlayStation 3 he said that, “We hope to have details in the next seven to 10 days. As with all arcade titles, irrespective of platform, you have to go through your submissions before they agree and approve a date. Unlike a disc-based title where we can pick our window, you have to go by what the first parties approve and give you a date, to make sure you're not coming out on the same day as five other titles. They like to manage the release window accordingly. We have requested a specific date and hopefully we'll get that and it's not too long after the 360 SKU.”
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is Cristal Dynamics' first downloadable only isometric action platformer that will be released on the 18th of August on XBLA. The title will feature a single player campaign, but its main selling point is the cooperative multiplayer mode. This will allow two friends to fill in the roles of Lara and Totec, an ancient Mayan warrior, and help each other traverse the treacherous environment surrounding the Temple of Light.