Despite the recent announcement that the Rise of the Tomb Raider for the Xbox "has a duration" it is still unlikely that the Rise of the Tomb Raider PS4 release date would be announced soon after the exclusivity duration expires.
Phil Spencer revealed to Eurogamer that the Rise of the Tomb Raider has an "exclusivity timer" and that Crystal Dynamics are free to put the game at any platform should they desire it but he won't comment about it any further.
“When people want me to say, can you tell us when or if it's coming to other platforms, it's not my job,” he explained. “My job is not to talk about games that I don't own. I don't own them building Tomb Raider on other platforms. I can't talk about the franchise in that way. I can talk about the deal that I have. I have Tomb Raider shipping next holiday exclusively on Xbox. It is [on] Xbox 360 and Xbox One. I'm not trying to fake anybody out in terms of where this thing is.”
“What they do with the franchise in the long run is not [my decision],” he emphasised. “I don't control it, so all I can talk about is the deal that I have. I don't know where else Tomb Raider goes.” The bigger question at this point is when it will move on, though? “The deal has a duration,” is all that Spencer would say. “I didn't buy it. I don't own the franchise.”
“People ask me how much did we pay. There are certain things that I'm just not going to talk about because it's a business deal between us and them. Obviously, the deal does have a duration. I didn't buy the property in perpetuity.”
“I didn't buy the IP. I didn't buy the studio. It's not mine. Where this thing will go over time, we'll see what happens with the game. I don't own every iteration of Tomb Raider.”
However, Crystal Dynamics still reaffirms the exclusivity of the game.
Crystal Dynamics' Darrell Gallagher tried to explain things:
"Today's announcement with Microsoft is one step to help us put Tomb Raider on top of action adventure gaming. 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. 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."
