Rise of the Tomb Raider Is Xbox Exclusive For A Short Time

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While Microsoft wouldn’t come out and say it for so long (despite marketing is as a Holiday 2015 exclusive), Square Enix has done their job for them. As Gematsu reports, the Steam version of Rise of the Tomb Raider will be released sometime early 2016, while the PS4 version will be released during the Holiday 2016 season.

The description of the basic plot points for Rise of the Tomb Raider paint an interesting narrative, as well.

"In the critically acclaimed Tomb Raider, Lara Croft survived a harrowing experience only to be discredited as part of a cover up. Now, after uncovering an ancient mystery, Lara must explore the most treacherous and remote regions of Siberia to find the secret of immortality before a ruthless organization known as Trinity. Lara must use her wits and survival skills, form new alliances, and ultimately embrace her destiny as the Tomb Raider.Experience high-octane action moments, conquer beautifully hostile environments, engage in brutal guerrilla combat, and explore awe-inspiring deadly tombs in the evolution of survival action. In Rise of the Tomb Raider, Lara becomes more than a survivor as she embarks on her first great Tomb Raiding expedition."

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I find it interesting that, based on the timeline, Rise of the Tomb Raider will see our protagonist make those first steps towards the dangerous, but rewarding path of exploring tombs. Though there was some of that in the recent reboot, the game still being tied towards an organization going after some unknown treasure after uncovering an ancient mystery still carries a lot of the same tones as the Uncharted series (which, ironically, played like a narrative-driven version of the PlayStation-era Tomb Raider).

Because Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End was pushed back to Spring 2016, one has to wonder if the exclusivity window for Rise of the Tomb Raider being roughly a full year long on consoles has anything to do with the possible cannibalization of sales on the PS4. It would make sense, considering how coy both Microsoft and Square Enix have been in relaying just how much time its Xbox exclusivity would remain.

Rise of the Tomb Raider will be released on the Xbox One and Xbox 360 on November 10, 2015.


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