Rise of the Tomb Raider
"Rise of the Tomb Raider" is a timed exclusive on the Xbox One and Xbox 360. http://www.tombraider.com/

It has been mentioned multiple times that “Rise of the Tomb Raider” would only be a temporary Xbox One exclusive, though fans were wondering how long it would hold such arrangement with Microsoft’s console. After months of waiting, Square Enix has finally unveiled that the game will be coming to the PlayStation 4 and Windows PC, though owners of the Sony console will have to wait a long time as it has been confirmed that it won’t come to the PlayStation 4 until the holiday season of 2016.

Square Enix confirmed the news when the company released an official press release regarding the game’s temporary exclusivity to the Xbox One, stating that it would eventually come to other gaming platforms. The company also revealed that “Rise of the Tomb Raider” would come to Windows 10 and Steam in early 2016, getting a head start over the PlayStation 4 version of the game, which will be out during the holiday season of 2016.

This could be considered a very smart strategy on the part of Microsoft, as the Xbox One will have “Rise of the Tomb Raider” a full year ahead of the PlayStation 4 version. Bleeding Cool stated that a whole year could make a big difference, though its possible that the initial buzz the game draws will make Sony users patient for the sequel to the first “Tomb Raider” reboot.

It’s clear that releasing “Rise of the Tomb Raider” exclusively for the Xbox One will make this year’s Christmas a big one for Microsoft, since gaming sales usually go up during the holiday season when big releases come out. Considering all the hype and excitement that the first “Tomb Raider” game got, its clear that the sequel will be just as hyped, if not more so than the first game.

“Rise of the Tomb Raider” will come to the Xbox One this holiday season, while PC users will have to wait until early 2016 to play the game on their Windows 10 PC. PlayStation 4 owners will have to wait a full year for the game, though they can enjoy the “Tomb Raider: Ultimate Edition” for now.

Rise of the Tomb Raider Gameplay Demo - E3 2015 Microsoft Press Conference (Credit: YouTube/GameSpot)