Rise of the Tomb Raider will be an Xbox One exclusive

By Will Fulton August 12, 2014

rise tomb raider will xbox one exclusive of the — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Rise of the Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics’ follow-up to its fantastic Tomb Raider reboot, will be an Xbox One exclusive, as the studio’s Darryl Gallagher at at Microsoft’s Gamescom 2014 press briefing.

“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,” Gallagher said. “This doesn’t mean that we’re walking away from our fans who only play on PlayStation or on PC. Those are great systems, with great partners, and amazing communities. We have Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris coming to those platforms this December, and Tomb Raider: The Definitive Edition is available on PS4.”

Rise of the Tomb Raider will pick up where the previous game left off, expanding its scope to a broader world as a young Lara Croft continues to become a legendary, globe-trotting adventurer. The game is scheduled for a holiday 2015 release.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

Gaming

A new Tomb Raider game is in development on Unreal Engine 5

Shadow of the Tomb Raider Review

Crystal Dynamics confirmed that it is working on a new Tomb Raider game that will use Unreal Engine 5, a game engine now available to all developers.
At the end of Epic Games' The State of Unreal 2022 presentation, which marked the wide release of Unreal Engine 5 to all developers, Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider franchise general manager Dallas Dickinson confirmed the new project. No gameplay or in-engine development footage was shown, but Dickinson voiced his enthusiasm for using Unreal Engine 5 to create the project.
"This new engine translates into next-level storytelling in gameplay experiences, and that's why we are thrilled to announce today that we have just started development of our next Tomb Raider game, powered by Unreal Engine 5," he said. "Our goal is to push the envelope of fidelity and to deliver the high-quality cinematic action-adventure experience that fans deserve from both Crystal Dynamics and the Tomb Raider franchise."
https://twitter.com/tombraider/status/1511368712279904258
There are no new story or gameplay details. However, Crystal Dynamics has previously voiced its intention to connect the most recent trilogy and the classic titles with new Tomb Raider media. Outside of Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics is currently working on post-launch support for Marvel's Avengers and is assisting The Initiative in developing the next Perfect Dark game, which also uses Unreal Engine 5. Eidos Montreal, not Crystal Dynamics, actually developed Shadow of the Tomb Raider, so this marks the studio's return to the series.
The new Tomb Raider is one of several brand-new games that will use Unreal Engine 5, as many studios like Crystal Dynamics and The Witcher's CD Projekt Red have committed to using the game engine for their next titles. The new engine features notable improvements over Unreal Engine 4, namely its Lumen global illumination system and Nanite technology, allowing for increased geometric detail and fidelity.
It sounds like this new Tomb Raider is early in development, so it will likely be a while before we hear more about it. Hopefully, it's an awesome showcase of Unreal Engine 5's power when it launches, presumably only on current-gen platforms.

Gaming

Marvel’s Avengers heads to Xbox Game Pass — except for exclusive Sony content

Marvel's Avengers Hawkeye.

Xbox Game Pass is constantly growing its library of new games, and in just a couple of days, it's landing another whopper. Starting on September 30, Game Pass subscribers can download Marvel's Avengers to their devices. However, considering the platform-exclusive plans the game has for some of its future content (read: Spider-Man), this entire deal seems a little awkward.

Marvel's Avengers will be available on Game Pass for PC, console, and Cloud on September 30 and will feature every bit of the game's content to date. Game Pass subscribers can access all of Marvel's Avengers story campaigns, post-launch heroes, and bonus content as soon as it's available. Naturally, that also includes the game's recently launched War for Wakanda DLC, which gives players access to Black Panther and the character's own story.

Gaming

The best Xbox One exclusives

Gears of War 4

With the console generation, the Xbox One and PS4 have truly battled it out. Although the Xbox One X is substantially more powerful than the PS4 Pro, Microsoft's offering this console generation has fallen by the wayside. Still, there are countless excellent exclusives on the platform, and with how cheap Xbox Ones are at the moment, now is a great time to play some of the best Xbox One exclusive titles.

In recent years, though, Microsoft has taken a different approach with Xbox One exclusive games. Ori and the Will of the Wisps, for example, was published by Microsoft Game Studios, but it's also available on Switch. There aren't many Xbox console exclusives. Although we're ignoring timed exclusives like Cuphead, there are a few entries that have become cross-platform games, in particular, since launch. Still, they're Xbox One exclusives at their core.