Perhaps one of yesterday’s biggest announcements, Rise of the Tomb Raider will be exclusive to Xbox One and Xbox 360 when it launches holiday 2015. But that exclusivity “has a duration,” Xbox boss Phil Spencer confirmed.
Speaking to Eurogamer at Gamescom, Spencer said, “I have Tomb Raider shipping next holiday exclusively on Xbox. It is 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 mine. I don’t control it. So all I can talk about is the deal I have. I don’t know where else Tomb Raider goes.”
He continued, confirming, “Yes, the deal has a duration. I didn’t buy it. I don’t own the franchise.”
Spencer, however, wouldn’t comment on the length of the duration.
“It’s not because I’m trying to be a headfake on anybody,” Spencer said. “It’s a deal between us and the partner. People ask me how much did we pay. There are certain things I’m just not going to talk about because it’s a business deal between us and then. Obviously the deal does have a duration. I didn’t buy the IP in perpetuity.”