Phil Spencer: Rise of the Tomb Raider exclusivity deal “has a duration”

I'm pretty sure we all expected this, but Xbox boss Phil Spencer confirmed it. In speaking with Eurogamer, Phil Spencer acknowledged that the Rise of the Tomb Raider exclusivity deal "has a duration." What we don't know is how long that deal last.

Square Enix and Microsoft made the announcement during the Xbox press conference at Gamescom yesterday that Rise of the Tomb Raider would be an Xbox exclusive. Then our News Editor Matt Liebl predicted that it might just be a timed Xbox One exclusive. This being the gaming industry, our opinionated writers couldn't contain their emotions or words, spilled them over to our site and argued that Microsoft isn't making any friends with this deal, and predicted that Rise of the Tomb Raider will probably be the first of sudden exclusives for the PS4 and Xbox One.

So when speaking with Eurogamer, Spencer told them, "I don't own them building Tomb Raider on other platforms. I can't talk about the franchise that way. I can talk about the deal I have."

And here's that deal:

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.

When asked for further clarification on the timed exclusiveness of Rise of the Tomb Raider, Spencer said, "Yes, the deal has a duration. I didn't buy it. I don't own the franchise."

So there you have it.

You can follow Features Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. Or you can email him at LLiebl@GameZone.com.