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Square Enix has clarified its stance on Rise of the Tomb Raider's exclusivity to Xbox. Microsoft announced at Gamescom this week that the game is coming exclusively to Xbox One and 360 for "Holiday 2015", which is American for "next Christmas".

Now Xbox boss Phil Spencer and asked him if that means the game will never come out on PlayStation 4 or PC, or if he's talking about a timed period of exclusivity. Turns out it's the second one.

Spencer began his explanation by pointing out that Tomb Raider doesn't belong to Microsoft, and that it's ultimately up to Square Enix which consoles the game will come to. "When people want me to say, can you tell us when or if it's coming to other platforms, it's not my job," he said. "I didn't buy the IP. I didn't buy the studio. It's not mine. Where this thing will go over time, just like Dead Rising or Ryse, we'll see what happens with the game. I don't own every iteration of Tomb Raider. I don't own them building Tomb Raider on other platforms. I can't talk about the franchise that way. I can talk about the deal I have."

And that deal is? "I have Tomb Raider shipping next holiday exclusively on Xbox. It is Xbox 360 and Xbox One. I'm not trying to fake anybody out in terms of where this thing is. What they do with the franchise in the long run is not mine. I don't control it. So all I can talk about is the deal I have. I don't know where else Tomb Raider goes."

Phil Spencer then answered whether the deal had a time limit. "Yes," replied Spencer, "the deal has a duration. I didn't buy it. I don't own the franchise."

So there you have it. Rise of the Tomb Raider will only be available on Xbox One and Xbox 360 next Christmas, but after that it could well turn up on PlayStation, Wii U or whatever platforms Square Enix wants.