Square Enix at the time confirmed that initial Xbox sales were “solid” and that Microsoft was fairly satisfied with its Xbox sales. The console-exclusivity period ended in October 2016 when the acclaimed sequel to the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot finally graced PlayStation 4. The game was released on Xbox 360 and Xbox One in November 2015 before landing on PC in January 2016. It was a first for the franchise and the reason why the timed-exclusive announcement sparked widespread criticism. Rise of the Tomb Raider was announced in 2014 as a timed exclusive for Xbox 360 and Xbox One. However, if Microsoft did agree to pay the sum to only keep PlayStation out in the cold, it begs to be questioned if the deal was worth it. It is entirely possible that the $100 million figure included multiple deals across sales, marketing, merchandizing, and other such departments. Microsoft shelling $100 million for a timed-exclusive deal seems fairly bizarre. Rossini was also directly involved in “negotiating $100 million Rise of the Tomb Raider exclusivity deal with Microsoft.” Microsoft apparently paid through its nose to keep Rise of the Tomb Raider exclusive to Xbox consoles for a period of one year back in 2015.Īccording to an updated LinkedIn profile (via Timur222) earlier today, former global brand director Fabien Rossini of publisher Square Enix was responsible for “building strategic partnerships with first parties” for franchises like Deus Ex and Hitman.

Rise of the tomb raider pc deal