With the Microsoft and Activision Blizzard deal now finalized, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer has said there’s “an opportunity” for revivals of fan-favorite series in the future. The catch is that this will only happen if the studios developing those games are completely motivated to do so and aren’t just creating something for financial gain.
Microsoft now has an “inspiring” amount of franchises to revisit
The completion of the Microsoft and Activision Blizzard deal has added a wealth of IP to Microsoft’s catalog. Spencer described the number of franchises in the Xbox portfolio as “kind of inspiring” in a recent Xbox podcast, but he’s not in a rush to go back to fan-favorite franchises just for the sake of it. Players will not see revivals or new games in an Activision Blizzard series created purely by Microsoft “for financial gain” or “for a PR announcement.”
The first step Xbox will take is to visit all of the newly-acquired Activision teams and find out “what are they passionate about.” Spencer states the reason for this is that “I just don’t think that a team working on something that isn’t their passion leads to the best result.”
While gamers will likely have a whole list of IPs like Spyro The Dragon, Skylanders, Tony Hawk, and Guitar Hero that they will want to see again, Spencer wants to make sure the teams do this with their “complete ability.”
Spencer did hint that Xbox Game Pass will give them “the ability to maybe pick a couple franchises every year and almost do a revisited,” but there are no definite plans to do this right now. This may not be limited to just Activision Blizzard IPs either; there is “an amazing trove of things” in the history of companies like Bethesda.
