To detail his vision for the Activision-Blizzard catalog, Phil Spencer appeared on the official Xbox podcast. The head of the Xbox brand said it would “thoroughly“behind any studio first party wishing to resurrect a dormant franchise – provided their synopsis is up to par.
“The quantity of franchises in our portfolio is as inspiring as it is imposing. I think we need to be the best steward possible for the content we collect. [Ces franchises] carry memories of gamers spanning multiple consoles and decades, and I want to make sure that when we revisit something, we do so with all our might.“
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Obviously, Phil Spencer was careful not to specify what intellectual properties he was thinking about. But the boss of Xbox concedes that the portfolio of his studios could have been better highlighted. One solution, perhaps: Game Pass. Spencer proposed – freewheeling, thinking out loud – to “revisit“old franchises by reinvigorating them through subscription. The evaluation process will begin with a grand tour of the Activision-Blizzard studios for “know what they are passionate about“. Many think of Hexen, a cult DOOM-like from the 1990s, of which Phil Spencer is a proven fan; we have often seen him wearing a t-shirt in the colors of this retro shooter formerly piloted by Raven Software, which has now joined the Xbox planet.
As for Xbox Game Pass, we will have to wait until 2024 for the Activision-Blizzard franchises to join the movement. Phil Spencer promises to take an interest in the publisher’s archives and not only focus on upcoming releases. At the same time, he vowed that Call of Duty would never again have exclusives. “For Call of Duty players on PlayStation, and later at Nintendo, we want you to feel part of the community. I don’t want you to feel like you’re missing out on content, cosmetics, temporary items… that’s not our goal.“.