Microsoft will publish Rise of the Tomb Raider (update)

Microsoft will publish Rise of the Tomb Raider when it's released next year exclusively on Xbox consoles, Microsoft's head of global product marketing Aaron Greenberg revealed on Twitter this week.

"Yes we are publishing Rise of the Tomb Raider," Greenberg wrote in response to a question about publication.

We've contacted Microsoft and longtime publisher Square Enix for details and will update this article with more information as we receive it.

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Xbox exclusivity and Microsoft publishing don't exclude the possibility that Rise of the Tomb Raider will arrive on other platforms. Developer Undead Labs' State of Decay launched exclusively for Xbox 360 in 2013 before launching on Steam, where Microsoft Studios publishes several games.

Microsoft revealed the sequel to Tomb Raider at E3 2014. Scheduled for a holiday 2015 release, Microsoft corporate vice president Phil Harrison announced at Gamescom 2014 that Rise of the Tomb Raider would be a timed exclusive on Xbox consoles.

Developer Crystal Dynamics rebooted the franchise in 2013 with Tomb Raider. Initially released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows PC, it arrived with HD upgrades on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in early 2014 as Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition. For more on that game, you can read Polygon's review, which takes into account the newest versions.

You can also read our review of Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, Crystal Dynamics' just-released downloadable, arcade action-focused installment.

Update: Square Enix also confirmed to Polygon that Microsoft will publish the upcoming game and noted that its "partnership with Microsoft on Rise of the Tomb Raider does have a duration, but we aren’t discussing those details at this time and are focused on collaborating to deliver a great game on Xbox One and Xbox 360."

Microsoft also responded to say that it would publish the game on Xbox platforms.

"Yes, Microsoft will be publishing Rise of the Tomb Raider on Xbox," a Microsoft spokesperson said. "Similar to how we worked with Capcom on Dead Rising 3 or Harmonix on Dance Central, we're very excited to partner with the amazing team at Crystal Dynamics to bring Rise of the Tomb Raider in holiday 2015, exclusively to Xbox. Both our team and the Xbox community are huge fans of the franchise and we can't wait to share more on the game in the future."