Rise of the Tomb Raider Concept Art

Coming off the success of Tomb Raider in both the critical and consumer circles, Crystal Dynamics was faced with a tough decision and a ton of expectation. They knew that Lara Croft’s future would depend on their next game, and therefore the studio made a bold choice to partner up with Microsoft and make Rise of the Tomb Raider an Xbox exclusive.

In doing so, Crystal Dynamics may have spurned some of Tomb Raider’s fan base, especially those who have always considered it a PlayStation franchise, but they apparently feel it was the right decision. The studio also isn’t ruling out the possibility of Rise of the Tomb Raider on PS4, but for now their focus is on the Xbox platforms.

But while most gamers have seen Microsoft as a publishing partner for Rise of the Tomb Raider, it’s never been entirely clear what their full role is on the game. More specifically, some were curious to know how hands-off or hands-on Microsoft has been with the Lara Croft sequel.

Lucky for us, Game Informer was on hand at Crystal Dynamics to pose those exact questions so as to better understand Microsoft’s role. The interview also covers the first game’s success, Square Enix’s sales expectations and more, but the focus for our purposes is on the Xbox talk. Watch the interview here or read on for the highlights.

Most Anticipated 2015 - Rise of the Tomb Raider

In the interview, Crystal Dynamics GM Darrell Gallagher reveals that Microsoft’s main role is to help bring Rise of the Tomb Raider to market. They are there to help the developers achieve their goals, and to assist in development if needed.

Gallagher didn’t get into specifics, but he said that the Xbox team has been helpful when it comes to better understanding the hardware and providing resources whenever applicable. But, nowhere in the interview does Gallagher say they have directly influenced the direction of the sequel, which is said to focus on tomb raiding more this time around.

As far as whether Microsoft was the white knight that kept Tomb Raider going, Gallagher thinks that the franchise would have always found a way. In other words, no the exclusivity deal wasn’t what kept the series going.

Rise of the Tomb Raider - Lara in Siberia

By and large, it sounds as if Microsoft gave Crystal Dynamics the support they needed where Rise of the Tomb Raider publishing and platform developer were concerned. Yes, the exclusivity is a bummer, but it sounds like the franchise is still under a solid umbrella.

What type of role did you think Microsoft took on Rise of the Tomb Raider? Do you think the sequel will ever come to PS4?

Rise of the Tomb Raider is targeting a 2015 release for Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

Source: Game Informer