PC and PlayStation 4 players will have to move over to their Xbox Ones or watch a Twitch stream to witness Lara Croft's rise during the holiday season of 2015.
Microsoft and Crystal Dynamics revealed at Gamescom 2014 that the next entry into the rebooted Tomb Raider series, Rise of the Tomb Raider, will be an un-timed Xbox One exclusive.
New-gen consoles and PCs were mired in quicksand and Lara Croft only chose to rescue one, letting the others down.
Evidence of Microsoft's exclusive hold on Rise of the Tomb Raider was right in front of everyone's eyes at E3 2013, as the sequel to the 2013 reboot of the series was announced during Microsoft's E3 press conference.
Microsoft and Sony ambiguously displayed exclusives and multiplatform titles during their respective E3 2014 press conferences, but many console specific titles were boasted by the console makers.
Darrell Gallagher, Crystal Dynamics' head of studios, released a statement on Tomb Raider's Tumblr page to rationalize the choice to release the sequel to the well-received reboot exclusively on Xbox One.
"Our friends at Microsoft have always seen huge potential in Tomb Raider and have believed in our vision since our first unveil with them on their stage at E3 2011," stated Gallagher. "We know they will get behind this game more than any support we have had from them in the past -- we believe this will be a step to really forging the Tomb Raider brand as one of the biggest in gaming, with the help, belief and backing of a major partner like Microsoft."
The decision to release the next entry of the Tomb Raider reboot as an Xbox One exclusive may have more to do with the initial sales of the 2013's Tomb Raider and less to do with a love affair with Microsoft. Despite surpassing 3.4 million units moved in physical sales, just three months after release, Crystal Dynamics said the game was failing to meet sales projections.
To draw more sales, the digital version of the 2013 Tomb Raider was deeply discounted and a remastered version, Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, was released roughly a year after launch. Narrowing the audience for the next Tomb Raider will help Crystal Dynamics better align the game's budget with its sales projections, while giving it the support of the aggressive underdog in the latest console race.
"This doesn't mean that we're walking away from our fans who only play on PlayStation or on PC," Gallagher stated. "Those are great systems, with great partners, and amazing communities. We have Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris coming to those platforms this December, and Tomb Raider: The Definitive Edition is available on PS4."
Here's a look at the announcement trailer.
