Sorry PS4: Xbox One Grabs Rise Of The Tomb Raider Exclusive

Bad news, PlayStation gamers: if you were hoping to play Rise of the Tomb Raider then you'll need to pick up an Xbox One, too, since it's confirmed today that the game will be exclusive to the console. Set to arrive in holiday 2015, the new installment in the long-running series will see Lara Croft return to the sort of tombs that she explored in the earliest games. However, PS4 owners are already angry.

According to Microsoft, Rise of the Tomb Raider will be set in multiple locations with a variety of hostile environments to explore. The bigger battle developer Crystal Dynamics faces, though, is explaining why it jumped into bed with Xbox.

According to head of studio Darrell Gallagher, the decision was down to the degree of support Microsoft was promising to give, and the potential that could have on driving sales of the new title.

"We know they will get behind this game more than any support we have had from them in the past," Gallagher says, describing the exclusive as "a step to really forging the Tomb Raider brand as one of the biggest in gaming."

However, he also insists that it doesn't mean the studio is abandoning PlayStation or PC. Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris is due December on both, he points out, while Tomb Raider: The Definitive Edition is already available on the PS4.

There's plenty of time to go before Rise of the Tomb Raider actually arrives, so details on gameplay are scant. Still, it's a much-loved franchise, and attention – along with heated argument over platform exclusives – is likely to be significant until the holiday season next year.

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