Microsoft has issued a response to reports suggesting that Crystal Dynamics had cut a multiplayer segment from this year’s Rise of the Tomb Raider, stating that the publisher plans to reveal more information about the Xbox timed-exclusive in the coming weeks.
Coming by way of VideoGamer, Microsoft hinted that the studio’s action-adventure sequel will include a feature that allows players to “complete with their friends,” suggesting that Crystal’s follow-up won’t contain multiplayer in the traditional sense.
“In the coming weeks and months, stay tuned for more info on all things Rise of the Tomb Raider,” a Microsoft representative told VideoGamer. “Including how players will be able to extend their single-player campaign and compete with their friends.”
Fans of the original 2013 reboot will likely feel indifferent to the company’s statement, given how unremarkable its own multiplayer section proved to be. Granted, Tomb Raider‘s online features incorporated a degree of the survival gameplay found in the core campaign, though it was thin on content and post-launch support, indicating that Crystal’s effort was never truly considered a priority.
Indeed this mantra has carried over onto Rise of the Tomb Raider, considering that the studio has stated repeatedly that the single-player story remains the primary concern as they build toward its November release. Welcome news, really; we’d rather a title ship without a multiplayer component than one that arrived sporting a half-baked feature that was tacked on in order to meet internal targets.
Rise of the Tomb Raider will launch for Xbox platforms first on November 10, before Crystal Dynamics’ sequel makes its way onto PC and PlayStation systems in 2016.
