Rise of the Tomb Raider Follow-Up Teased, Not an Xbox-Only IP

The new Tomb Raider story arc that began with the 2013 reboot and continues this year with Rise of the Tomb Raider may move forward with a third game sometime later. In an interview at Gamescom today, Square Enix Americas CEO Phil Rogers let slip that Lara Croft's new story will be told across a trilogy.

Rogers revealed the key detail when asked about the controversy and backlash surrounding Rise of the Tomb Raider's exclusivity deal with Xbox.

"We believe first and foremost this is the right thing to do with Tomb Raider right now," Rogers said about the deal with Microsoft. "What it's done for the sake of the studio and the next beat with the Tomb Raider trilogy... But the backlash is--we've watched carefully and we believe it's the right thing to do."

A Square Enix representative told GameSpot, "We're always thinking about the future of the franchise, but right now we're focused on the upcoming release of Rise of the Tomb Raider."

A follow-up to Rise of the Tomb Raider wouldn't be altogether surprising, however. Back in 2012, before the release of the Tomb Raider reboot, then-global brand director Karl Stewart said Crystal Dynamics would need multiple games to tell Lara Croft's new story.

"You have to look at the future, you have to look at where…It's not just one game," Stewart said at the time. "I have to be careful because I know exactly where she's going."

Also in our interview with Rogers, we asked if Square Enix would consider more exclusive deals with Microsoft--or other companies--in the future.

"We're very much a game-by-game, case-by-case company. I can't rule it out," Rogers said. "But as with any exclusivity, they're really tough decisions."

Rogers pointed out that there are many advantages to partnering with Xbox for Rise of the Tomb Raider, not the least of which was having the Microsoft marketing machine behind the game. But exclusivity deals also have disadvantages, including disappointing PlayStation and PC fans in the short-term.

He went on say, however, that Rise of the Tomb Raider's exclusivity deal with Microsoft should not be seen as a step toward the franchise becoming a full exclusive to Xbox.

"We don't see this over time becoming an Xbox IP," Rogers said about Tomb Raider. "This is a story and we'll look back over the Tomb Raider franchise and history, and it will be a chapter where it was a timed-exclusive with Xbox."

Rise of the Tomb Raider launches on November 10 for Xbox One and Xbox 360. It will be released for PC and PlayStation 4 in 2016.

We learned and saw a lot more of Rise of the Tomb Raider this week at Gamescom. Check out some of the top stories and previews below.

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