You’ll have to wait an extra year to play Rise of the Tomb Raider on PS4
Microsoft's exclusive deal hits Sony fans hard, but the PC wait isn't as bad
Microsoft scored one hell of a coup when it announced exclusive first release rights to Rise of the Tomb Raider on Xbox One and Xbox 360, but the game was sure to hit other platforms eventually. Now we know when.
Sadly, it’s not very good news for PlayStation 4 owners. While the Xbox versions release this 10 November, the rival console won’t get the game until the 2016 holiday season. It’s a daunting delay for Lara Croft’s latest glossy adventure, and releasing after Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End next year might not do it any favours.
Luckily, PC players get a much better deal, no doubt due to Microsoft’s interests on that end of things. The game will launch for Windows 10 and on Steam early in 2016, likely sometime in the first quarter. The PC version of the last Tomb Raider was particularly impressive, ultimately leading to the later remastered edition for Xbox One and PS4.
Why release exclusively on Xbox consoles? Surely, Microsoft paid handsomely for the privilege, and it might’ve even helped the game get made. Square Enix initially said that sales of the Tomb Raider reboot fell short of expectations, but the long tail – helped by those remastered editions and the strong reviews and word of mouth – eventually helped make it the series’ best-selling entry.
With some extra cash from Microsoft, a proper sequel to the reboot became much more viable, and PC and PlayStation 4 players will benefit from the deal as well – eventually, at least. But while an Xbox 360 version is also being made (by support studio Nixxes, not main developer Crystal Dynamics), it doesn’t sound like a PS3 release will follow alongside the PS4 game next year.
[Source: Square Enix]
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Andrew Hayward
Freelance Writer 
