A few days ago, Microsoft announced that it was acquiring Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. Since then, questions about Call of Duty exclusivity and existing Activision Blizzard sexual harassment issues have dominated the headlines. However, a new interview between the head of Microsoft Gaming, Phil Spencer, and The Washington Post, revealed more information about the company's plans for dormant franchises and why it acquired Activision Blizzard.
The Wall Street Journal said that Spencer will talk to developers about working on a number of old franchises like Guitar Hero and Hexen. Hexen is essentially Doom with magic, and maybe id Software can make a sequel down the line. id Software was also acquired by Microsoft with the Bethesda purchase. Spencer said the following to the outlet.
I was looking at the ... list, I mean, let's go! King’s Quest, Guitar Hero … I should know this but I think they got Hexen ... We're hoping that we'll be able to work with them 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. I really think it's about adding resources and increasing capability.
Apart from that, Spencer detailed the reasoning behind purchasing Activision Blizzard. The Wall Street Journal said that he's concerned with companies unfamiliar with gaming barging into the industry. Just take a look at Google. The corporation set up its Stadia internal studios and closed them down when it didn't see immediate results. Usually, it doesn't end well.
Microsoft wants to become the corporation out there that's known for gaming because there's a current vacuum in that space, in the West at least. Spencer said the following.
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.
It'll be interesting to see what happens in the future when the Activision Blizzard deal goes through, barring any objections from the government. Hopefully, franchises like Hexen will return and deliver worthwhile new experiences.
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