On the 18th of January 2022, Microsoft shocked the gaming industry with an announcement that they wereacquiring Activision Blizzard for nearly $70bn. Like with Microsoft’s Bethesda acquisition, the announcement immediately sparked waves of questions and queries from gamers all over the world.
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Although the most prominent questions were regarding what games would be coming to Game Pass, the future of theCall of Dutyseries, and whether Activision Blizzard games would now be exclusive to Xbox and PC, many people were also interested to know whether Microsoft planned to revitalize any of Activision’s forgotten IPs.
Activision owns a huge range of notable IPs, but many of them have fallen through the cracks due to the company’s intent on focusing on their key money-making titles likeCall of DutyandCandy Crush. Hopefully, once the acquisition is finalized, we will see some of the following fan-favorite franchises make a welcome return.
5Spyro The Dragon
Along withCrash Bandicoot,Spyro The Dragonwas an unofficialmascot of sorts for PlayStation in their PS1 era- which is one of the many bizarre outcomes of the acquisition deal, asSpyroandCrashmay now be Xbox and PC exclusives. Another similarity between the pair is that they both had their classic PlayStation 1 trilogies remade in the late-2010s.
Unfortunately forSpyrofans, the IPs have had different fortunes since then.Crash Bandicootfans were treated to a remake ofCrash Team Racing, a mobile game, and even a brand new main series game that followed on fromCrash 3: Warped.Meanwhile,Spyrofans are still waiting for the purple dragon’s next adventure. There were a handful of references toSpyroinCrash Bandicoot 4: It’s AboutTime, which gave fans hope that an announcement was on the way, though there has been no word since.
An announcement of a brand newSpyro the Dragonadventure could be the perfect way for Microsoft to hit the ground running once the acquisition is complete, with Toys for Bob being ideally suited for the project.
4Guitar Hero
It’s easy to forget now, considering how rarerhythm gamesare today, but in the late-2000s, the genre took the gaming industry by storm and was one of the most commercially successful video game genres.Guitar Herospearheaded this sharp rise in prominence when the series released its first gameon the PlayStation 2, which introduced players to the now-iconic guitar controller.
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Guitar Herowas originally published by RedOctane, who wasacquired by Activision in June 2006 for a reported fee of $100m. For some,Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rockfrom Activision and developers Neversoft is where rhythm games peaked. This title was released on PC, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii in October 2007, and many people sunk hundreds of hours into trying to perfect their favorite tracks.
Given how sharply the rhythm genre fell out of prominence, there is some risk attached to Microsoft trying to bring the series back. However, if the game was marketed well, had an exciting tracklist, and featured an exciting new take on the guitar controller, then a new Xbox-exclusiveGuitar Herorelease could result in a spike in console sales.
3SWAT
TheSWATseries began in 1995 withDaryl F. Gates' Police Quest: SWAT,a graphic adventure game from Sierra On-Line. The series received numerous entries in the ’90s and 2000s, with the 2005 tactical shooterSWAT 4being considered as the peak by many fans and critics. The game tasked players with leading a SWAT unit and dropped them in situational missions where tactical precision was essential to saving a hostage, taking down a dangerous person of interest, or other intense objectives.
Withhigh-quality tactical shootersbeing few and far between today, a new entry in theSWATseries would be a tantalizing prospect. Although a new single-playerSWATgame would be fantastic, Microsoft could use theSWATIP to create a tactical multiplayer game to compete withTom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege.
2King’s Quest
From one Sierra On-Line creation to another,King’s Questis one of the most iconic names inthe graphic adventure genre. The firstKing’s Questgame was released all the way back in 1984, four years afterWizard and the Princess, which Sierra has officially recognized as a prelude to the series.
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IncludingWizard and the Princess, theKing’s Questseries consisted of eight games between 1980 and 1998. The classic series was a key figure in the golden age of adventure games, featuring some of the most memorable stories and puzzles, particularlythe infamous gnome puzzle fromKing’s Quest 1.
In 2015, the series made an unexpected but welcome comeback with an episodic video game series that reimagined the classic games. The episodic series was well-received, though there hasn’t been a follow-up as yet. Graphic adventure games may not be anywhere near as popular as they once were in the ’90s, but a return of theKing’s Questseries could be exactly what the genre needs to spark it back into life, which is why a new entry in the franchise would be so exciting.
1Geometry Wars
TheGeometry Warsseries had an odd start to life, appearing as little more than a mini-game in 2003’scritically-acclaimed racerProject Gotham Racing 2. However, when some players began playingProject Gotham Racing 2just to playGeometry Wars, it was clear that a standalone game was needed.
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolvedwas released in 2003 before several other games in the series were hit stores up untilGeometry Wars 3: Dimensionsin 2016. As is often the case with simplistic arcade-style games, developers will try to reinvent the gameplay in attempts to make it bigger and better, though it almost always fails to impress, as players just want the classic experience.
This, in theory, makes Microsoft’s task simple withGeometry Wars, as a reboot of the original game with just a visually improved version of the classic gameplay wouldn’t be too tricky to make, and it would be a great pick-up-and-play addition to Game Pass.
