The publisher says PC and PS4 users will be able to get the game after its Xbox One launch

Aug 23, 2014 04:16 GMT  ·  By

Squad Enix has realized that the exclusivity announcement made for Rise of the Tomb Raider has generated a lot of controversy and has released a FAQ piece confirming that it's only a timed deal, hinting that PC or PS4 owners will be able to play the game eventually.

At Gamescom 2014, quite a lot of titles that were only revealed at E3 2014 in June received lots of new details, alongside videos or screenshots.

Among them was Rise of the Tomb Raider from Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics, which was confirmed to be launching exclusively for the Xbox One and Xbox 360 in the holiday season of 2015.

This led to a pretty big backlash against the game from fans of the franchise on PC or PS4, calling it a betrayal from Square Enix.

The publisher has now organized a small FAQ article on the official Tumblr, confirming that the exclusivity is only a timed one.

"What does exclusive to Xbox mean? It means that Rise of the Tomb Raider is coming Holiday 2015 exclusively on Xbox One and Xbox 360," the publisher explained.

"Does the exclusive to Xbox have a duration? Is it timed? How long is the duration? Can we expect a PlayStation 4 or PC release in the future? Yes, our deal with Microsoft has a duration. We aren’t discussing details of the deal, and are focused on delivering a great game on Xbox One and Xbox 360."

Square Enix also explained that Rise of the Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics knew about the deal and is certain that Microsoft's partnership will help the franchise grow.

"Crystal Dynamics is excited to be partnering with Microsoft to make the best game possible. As Darrell mentioned in his message, we have a long history with Microsoft and they have been a very strong supporter of the franchise. They will help us grow and nurture the Tomb Raider franchise more than ever before."

When asked if it doesn't care about the franchise's fans on other platforms, Square Enix emphasized that the decision wasn't taken lightly and that it hopes the Microsoft collaboration will help it realize the vision for the game.

It also said that the limited time of the Microsoft Gamescom 2014 announcement made it hard to explain that the exclusivity was a timed one.

As such, expect Rise of the Tomb Raider to appear towards the end of 2015 for Xbox One and Xbox 360. It's possible that in early 2015, probably in spring, the game might also appear on PC, PS4, and maybe even PS3.