We all know Microsoft is no stranger to throwing around money. From colossus studio acquisitions to bringing quality games to Xbox Game Pass on day one, it’s clear they have a lot in the bank. So it’s not utterly shocking that Rise of the Tomb Raider’s timed exclusivity was allegedly worth $100 million when it launched on Xbox One in 2015.
As discovered by VGC, a LinkedIn profile for former Square Enix corporate development director Fabien Rossini claims they scored the timed exclusivity deal for Rise of the Tomb Raider while working at the company. It was quickly removed from Rossini’s profile following the discovery, but has been captured by one Twitter user:
While it may seem like a hefty sum, it’s not actually out of the realms of possibility. Firstly, it's not clear if that was the actual sum spent on the title or whether it was just the so-called "value" of it. Some people have been quick to mention it’s relatively close to the game’s budget, but as mentioned by VGC, it’s a similar deal to the one that Epic Games struck with Gearbox for timed Borderlands 3 exclusivity on PC.
During the Apple vs Epic trial earlier this year, it emerged that Borderlands 3 was acquired for six months for $115 million, putting it above Rise of the Tomb Raider, which by comparison was secured by Xbox for an entire year.
While we’re not sure how well the Xbox version did, it’s said to have shipped one million units within its first two months, according to Xbox exec Aaron Greenberg.
It’s not entirely clear whether the gamble paid off, but since Shadow of the Tomb Raider didn’t receive the same treatment a couple of years later, we’d wager it wasn’t as spectacular as originally hoped.
Surprised by the alleged worth of Rise of the Tomb Raider’s timed exclusivity? Let us know below.
Comments 9
Woah didn't think it would be that much.
@John117 I’m sure it costs a small fortune to get games on GamePass as well…
What a waste of money that could have gone to making a new IP. Hindsight is 20/20, but yikes!
@CrazyJF Well Sony helped develop Street Fighter 5, so we'll probably never know that. Now FF7 Remake, FF16, and the others would have had to be a pretty penny.
And I think Epic spent way more. There is a reason why Nintendo doesn’t dabble much these days into this kind of thing.
@Rafie I suspect Sony's Final Fantasy exclusivity isn't as much as many think.
PlayStation is by a distance the #1 console platform for Final Fantasy. This way Square Enix can have their cake and eat it too, still getting the bulk of first day sales as normal plus some Sony money day one and then double down on Game Pass a year later.
This also gives the game a second wind of sales on other platforms a year later as it comes back into the gaming conversation.
However if the tables were turned and Xbox wanted it as an exclusive it would logically make sense that it cost a lot more considering their smaller global market share and larger number of day 1 sales that would be lost. That's business.
I did enjoy rise of the tomb raider on the Xbox.
And at the time being silly, i did get smug with my Sony fanboy son that it was Xbox exclusive.
Well you have to have some father and son fun.
This was the game that made me buy an XBO. Even though I was a day one OG and 360 owner the whole Kinect and TV, TV, TV debacle put me right off but I couldn't wait a year to play this.
I actually got an amazing deal. The bundle was the XBO with RotTR, Rare Replay and Forza 6 disc copies and a digital copy of Ori, all for £229. Bargain!
This does feel like a lot of money for what they got - however it does make you question how much Game Pass acquisitions cost as well.
Considering there are tons of games that go on there and this isn't offering the company sales the way this deal does - technically you could argue sales shouldn't be affected for the company while GP is stopping the game being sold at some level. Would love to know the actual details of GP out of complete curiosity.
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