Rise of the Tomb Raider on Xbox 360 is being handled by an outside studio

Crystal Dynamics won't be developing the Xbox 360 version of Rise of the Tomb Raider, but is instead handing the title off to Nixxes Software, studio head Darrell Gallagher recently told Game Informer.

"We're wholly focused on Rise being an Xbox One title without limitation, without even thinking of the Xbox 360 version," Gallagher said.

He added that the Xbox 360's "ecosystem is still super strong," but that console translations take time. When it came to Rise of the Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics was "totally blown away" by a tech demo Nixxes put together.

"But the existence of that game isn't limiting our work on the Xbox One version," Gallagher said.

Nixxes has worked on several other ports for Crystal Dynamics, including Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. For more details on the upcoming game, check out Game Informer.

Crystal Dynamics announced Rise of the Tomb Raider, the sequel to its 2013 reboot, last year at E3. While Tomb Raider focused on Lara's first adventure, the sequel follows an emotionally distraught heroine as she struggles to accept her destiny. The game is expected to launch this holiday season as an Xbox exclusive published by Microsoft, though that exclusivity "has a duration."

For more on the first game, check out our review.