Dead Activision Blizzard Games Microsoft Could Revive
Microsoft drove the internet wild by announcing its acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. With over a year until the deal officially closes, it's time for everyone to speculate about what games could be exclusive and what games could be getting brought back from the dead. While this news is terrible for PlayStation fans, who may not get to play any of the revived series on their console of choice, it's exciting for Xbox and PC players. Activision Blizzard has plenty of older titles waiting to get another shot, especially with the backing of Microsoft.
While Microsoft may have felt enticed by Activision Blizzard's heavy hitters like "Call of Duty" and "Diablo IV," the company's focus on bringing as many games as possible to Game Pass means it could want to have a few smaller titles in between the giants. Here are five of the Activision Blizzard IPs that need to be revived by Microsoft.
Guitar Hero
The age of playing rhythm games with plastic instruments seems to be long dead, but the acquisition by Microsoft and the current gaming landscape seem primed for it to return. "Guitar Hero" is a perfect title not only to revive, but to use as a pillar of Xbox Game Pass. While it might seem odd to put a game that requires you to buy a new controller on the subscription service, Game Pass would allow for "Guitar Hero" to exist as a live service game. During the heyday of the series new "Guitar Hero" titles were released pretty much every single year, with over a dozen games releasing between 2005 and 2015.
DLC and regular updates had not become commonplace until the series was on the way out, so it never quite had the opportunity to become a live service title. Plus, with Microsoft's experience in the hardware department, it might be able to create higher quality controllers at a cheaper cost, lowering the barrier to entry. Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick even told GamesBeat that Microsoft is the perfect company to bring the franchise back.
Spyro
"Spyro the Dragon" is the forgotten mascot platformer in Activision Blizzard's catalog. The "Spyro Reignited Trilogy" did release on modern platforms in 2018, but that's just a remaster of older games. The last game in the series — not including "Skylanders" — was "Spyro: Shadow Legacy" for the Nintendo DS in 2005. Why should "Spyro" get revived? As it currently stands, Microsoft does not have a 3D platformer series in active production. While "Banjo-Kazooie" is just sitting in the catalogue, Rare is busy making "Everwild," a game that doesn't even have a release date yet.
The Activision Blizzard acquisition comes with a little development studio by the name of Toys for Bob, who recently made "Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time." That studio could be freed up and let loose on a brand new "Spyro" title, giving Xbox a new 3D platformer and adding more variety to Xbox Game Pass. Of course, many fans will likely hope that Toys for Bob would just make a "Banjo-Kazooie" game.
Geometry Wars
While not as dormant as some of the other IPs that Activision Blizzard owns, it's been seven years since "Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions" released, which is a pretty long gap without active development for a series so critically acclaimed. "Geometry Wars" has an 86 on Metacritic, "Geometry Wars 2" has a 90, and "Geometry Wars 3" has an 82. The downside would be that the original developer no longer exists and Lucid Games, who made "Geometry Wars 3," isn't owned by Activision Blizzard. While Microsoft would ultimately need to find a studio to make a new "Geometry Wars," it would be worth it.
Microsoft has expressed that the most important part of the Xbox business is currently building Xbox Game Pass, so having a smaller game, one that wouldn't take 3 to 5 years to develop, to fill out that lineup would be a smart move. While smaller, download-only games are commonplace now, "Geometry Wars" was one of the first and it has the name recognition to get fans excited.
Prototype
While "Prototype" is not necessarily a loved-series or even a critically acclaimed one, it offers the chance to attempt to fill, at least partially, a Marvel sized-hole in Microsoft's line-up. "Prototype" was an early version of the open-world superhero game, opting for a dark tone along with its open-world action. Both the original and the sequel have a 79 on Metacritic, which — while a bit low — shows promise. A smartly made sequel would offer Xbox a chance to have at least something in the superhero category, even if it doesn't have the name recognition that PlayStation's "Spider-Man" games have.
Superheroes are popular and PlayStation has "Spider-Man 2" and "Wolverine" in the pipeline as exclusives. "Prototype" doesn't really compete with one of those, let alone two, but a well made superhero game would go a long way, especially on Xbox Game Pass. Plus, the original developer Radical Entertainment is still owned by Activision Blizzard.
The Lost Vikings
The Blizzard half of the company has far fewer inactive franchises than Activision, but there is one property that is ripe for a revival. "The Lost Vikings" is a 2D puzzle-platformer following three Vikings who were kidnapped by aliens and needed to escape. Players had to navigate all three Vikings, each with their own special ability, to the end of each level. Why should "The Lost Vikings" be revived? Well, it ticks plenty of boxes for what a popular retro-style game needs in the modern era.
"The Lost Vikings" could easily be translated into a co-op game, with players working together using the different abilities to get each other to the end of the level. It could be made into a super hard platformer, like "Super Meat Boy" or "Celeste." It could get a beautiful art style, like "Sonic Mania." With Activision Blizzard, Microsoft has a seemingly endless amount of blockbuster games in development, a few smaller, quirky, titles would bring some well-loved variety.