Perhaps the biggest shock to come out of this year’s Gamescom was the news that Rise of the Tomb Raider would be exclusive to Xbox One—at least for a while. If the announcement caught you off guard, don’t worry. You’re not alone. It turns out Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, was just as surprised as you were.
Speaking with Eurogamer, Yoshida revealed that he had no idea Square Enix was in exclusivity talks with Microsoft, also noting the specific language used in the announcement that many have taken to mean the deal won’t last indefinitely. “It’s very interesting the way Phil Spencer said, what we are saying is, in holiday 2015 Tomb Raider is exclusive to Xbox. So it’s open to interpretation. But still, we didn’t anticipate something like this would happen.”
When asked whether or not the game would eventually make its way to PlayStation 4, Yoshida couldn’t offer any concrete answer. “That question has to be asked to Square Enix and Microsoft. I hope the game will come out eventually on PS4. But how can I tell? Other than that cryptic message by Phil Spencer.”
At the very least, Shu seems well aware of the negative backlash PS4 fans expressed following the exclusivity announcement. “Anything Microsoft announces, people complain to me as well. In general there are lots of people who are angry, who emotionally reacted to the announcement,” he recounted. “Some people created an image saying negative things, like the end of Tomb Raider. It was a very emotional response.”
Whether or not such apocalyptic claims will prove out remains to be seen, but it’s likely Rise of the Tomb Raider will take a hit in sales by limiting itself to a single console—especially when it’s skipping the one that just passed 10 million units sold. Equally sad, however, is the fact that PS4 gamers will now have absolutely no way to get their tomb raiding fix in 2015. None whatsoever.