Microsoft has announced its plans to acquire Activision Blizzard for nearly $70 billion in what is going to be the largest acquisition in the history of the video game industry. Assuming everything is approved, Activision Blizzard, its associated studios, and all its IP will likely fall under the Xbox umbrella starting some point in mid to late 2023. When this happens, Xbox will have the chance to do whatever it wants with Activision Blizzard franchises, like bringing some dormant ones back from the dead.
In an interview with VentureBeat, current Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick confirmed that he and head of Xbox Phil Spencer have discussed possible games for the future. One of the games discussed was a potential Guitar Hero revival, with Kotick explaining that he wants to make a new entry in the music/rhythm game series but has been reluctant to foot the bill for manufacturing the guitars and dealing with that added headache, which would've been worsened by the ongoing chip shortages. With Microsoft's resources, this potential Guitar Hero revival is much more realistic.
Besides wanting to see a Guitar Hero revival, Kotick has also expressed desire for Skylanders to make a comeback. Kotick says that it's one of his "great disappointments" that "other people" started making "crappy" Skylanders alternatives that "destroyed the market." Kotick told VentureBeat, "If you look at Skylanders, with its hardware and manufacturing and supply chain, there are the same kinds of things that we can't do, but Microsoft can."
While it may be a bit trickier to bring the toys-to-life Skylanders back into the mainstream, it seems like Microsoft would have a much easier time rebooting Guitar Hero. While Kotick claims to have a "really cool vision" of what a new Guitar Hero game could be, one has to imagine that a Guitar Hero that goes back to the series roots would be the safest bet. A nostalgia-focused Guitar Hero remake or remaster marketed to millennials that grew up with the franchise seems like it stands a good chance at being a surefire hit.
Until Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard is complete, all fans can do is speculate about how the Xbox brand may handle the company's many franchises. Whether that's finally bringing World of Warcraft to consoles, making Call of Duty Xbox exclusive, or reviving dormant franchises like Guitar Hero and Skylanders remains to be seen, but fans will find out in the years ahead.
Source: VentureBeat