One of the most exciting possibilities of Microsoft's pending purchase of Activision Blizzard is the potential for dormant franchises to return. Over the last few years, Activision has shifted the majority of its focus to the Call of Duty series, leaving a number of beloved franchises forgotten. After Xbox announced the deal, reports began to circulate that the yearly Call of Duty releases could cease, which would give the company more time to work on other things. During today's Activision Blizzard earning's release, CEO Bobby Kotick chimed in on that possibility.

"As we look to the future, with Microsoft's scale and resources, we will be better equipped to grow existing franchises, launch new potential franchises, and unlock the rich library of games we have assembled over 40 years," said Kotick.

Activision Blizzard isn't slated to officially join Microsoft until summer 2023, so fans will be waiting a bit to see any potential impact. At the very least, the purchase is expected to add a lot more games to Xbox Game Pass, and that could be a potential way for Microsoft to gauge interest in dormant franchises. In an interview with the Washington Post last month, Xbox boss Phil Spencer name-dropped Activision Blizzard owned IPs such as Hexen, Guitar Hero, and King's Quest, all of which have been missing in action for a while, and could have a better chance at a comeback under Microsoft.

Of course, the most likely candidates might be Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon. The former PlayStation mascots received exciting new releases under Toys for Bob, but the studio shifted to working as a Call of Duty support studio last year. It's possible that Toys for Bob could be given the opportunity to work on these franchises once again, or that another Microsoft owned studio could take a crack at them. The possibilities are seemingly limitless, should the deal go through without any issues. For now, fans will just have to see how things play out!



Posted: Feb 05, 2022 7:54 pm
Related Forum: Xbox Forum

Source: https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/activision-blizzard-bobby-kotick-teases-return-dormant-franchises-microsoft-xbox-acquisition/