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Tomb Raider Reboot Breaks Into The Black
Last year, Square Enix blamed its financial failures on the underperformance of key Western-developed titles like Tomb Raider, Hitman: Absolution, and Sleeping Dogs. The real failure may have been in Square Enix's outlandish projections, because Tomb Raider has achieved profitability.
Speaking to Eurogamer, executive producer Scot Amos revealed that game has broken into the black. "By the end of last year Tomb Raider is in the black," he said. "We've crossed the line of profitability for the last-gen and PC versions."
Amos also said despite what was said in the Square Enix financial reports, Crystal Dynamics never felt it didn't have the support of its publisher. "They've always been behind us, regardless of maybe what was said or how it was said in the press, and certainly at the end of the year we've actually gone over expectations because we've managed to get profitability back," he said.
Those numbers should continue to improve with the release of the Tomb Raider Definitive Edition for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on January 28. Given the starved release schedule for both platforms up until March, it could end up being the game of choice for those looking for something to play on their new consoles.
Our Take:
Given the critical success and strong early sales numbers, we always thought it was strange for Square Enix to point the blame at Tomb Raider, especially given the struggles of Final Fantasy over the last few years and Square's aggressive price gouging on mobile and tablet platforms. The sales throughout the year have proven us right to be skeptical. Congratulations to Crystal Dynamics on its well deserved success.
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