Xbox Head Phil Spencer Says Microsoft Will Talk With Developers About Reviving Older Activision Blizzard Franchises

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, who doubles as the head of Xbox, has revealed that Xbox is going to talk to Activision Blizzard developers about working on dormant franchises. 

This news comes by way of a new interview with Spencer from The Washington Post, where he reveals his excitement about the IP Microsoft can now tap into after its acquisition of Activision Blizzard is complete. He specifically mentions King’s Quest, Guitar Hero, and even HeXen, a long-dormant Activision Blizzard franchise that’s basically a first-person spellcasting game. 

Spencer told The Washington Post, “We’re hoping that we’ll be able to work with them [Activision Blizzard developers] when the deal closes to make sure we have resources to work on franchises that I love from my childhood and that the teams really want to get.” 

“I’m looking forward to these conversations,” he said. “I really think it’s about adding resources and increasing capability.” 

Spencer also touched on a worry he has about tech companies not traditionally associated with gaming coming into the space. 

“They [Nintendo] have a long history in video games,” Spencer said. “Nintendo’s not going to do anything that damages gaming in the long run because that’s the business they’re in. Sony is the same and I trust them…Valve’s the same way. When we look at the other big tech competitors for Microsoft: Google has search and Chrome, Amazon has shopping, Facebook has social, all these large-scale consumer businesses…The discussion we’ve had internally, where those things are important to those other tech companies for how many consumers they reach, gaming can be that for us.” 

“I think we do have a unique point of view, which is not about how everything has to run on a single device or platform,” he continued. “That’s been the real turning point for us looking at gaming as a consumer opportunity that could have similar impact on Microsoft that some of those other scale consumer businesses do for other big tech competitors. And it’s been great to see the support we’ve had from the company and the board.” 

For more, be sure to read the entire interview from The Washington Post. After that, read about Microsoft’s staggering $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard and then check out how that price tag stacks up against other video game acquisitions. After that, read about why one Game Informer editor believes Sony and PlayStation need a Game Pass competitor now more than ever. 

[Source: The Washington Post]

What dormant Activision Blizzard franchises do you hope Microsoft and Xbox revive? Let us know in the comments below!