When Square Enix and developer Crystal Dynamics announced Rise of the Tomb Raider for only Xbox 360 and Xbox One, we all suspected it was a timed exclusivity deal. It turns out that's exactly the case, and Square Enix announced release dates for other platforms this morning.
Rise of the Tomb Raider heads to Steam and Windows 10 in early 2016. That's not surprising given the Microsoft connection, but Square Enix also mentioned a PlayStation 4 release. The game comes out on Sony's console in holiday 2016.
That means Rise of the Tomb Raider will be a console exclusive on Xbox 360 and Xbox One for about a year. That's a pretty long time, especially for people like me who have no willpower and like to buy games when they're new. Then again, I have a respectable desktop, so waiting until early 2016 for the PC port sounds like a reasonable plan.
It will be particularly interesting to see how well Rise of the Tomb Raider sells on Microsoft platforms in the year before the PS4 release. It gives the company a strong head start, but perhaps others have more willpower and are willing to wait until holiday 2016 to play the game.
Rise of the Tomb Raider comes out on November 10 for Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
