Which Activision Blizzard property do you want to see Microsoft revive?

By Robert Carnevale
published

It's time for the greats to return to the limelight.

Spyro
Spyro (Image credit: Activision)

In case you haven't been following the news, Microsoft gobbled up Activision Blizzard, meaning the latter's properties are being injected into the ever-expanding body of Xbox. Therefore, if you want a new Spyro or Tony Hawk game, you need to be praying to Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft Gaming.

But which franchise deserves said thoughts and prayers? After all, Activision Blizzard has been sitting on a lot of IPs that could use a full-on revival or, at the very least, a loving dust-off. Which one do you most want to see Xbox bring back to prominence?

Spencer has openly acknowledged that Guitar Hero is cool, so the fact that that particular franchise is on his mind bodes well for fans of the series (air guitar with a next-gen version of the cast-aside Kinect??). HeXen is also in his sights. In case you don't know what that is, it's the 1995 DOOM-with-magic shooter that made our list of the 5 Activision Blizzard franchises Microsoft should revive (in our opinion).

With that said, not every Activision Blizzard IP in need of a tuneup is ancient or completely defunct. It's worth mentioning Crash Bandicoot, for example. Sure, the zany orange guy got a brand-new adventure with Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, but since a lot of that game's devs got shuttled over to the Call of Duty mines, it's worth hoping Xbox will remember that Crash is awesome and deserves to stay in the public consciousness.

In summary: Activision Blizzard is sitting on a mountain of beloved intellectual properties, many of which have seen recent action and many of which haven't. There are too many to list in a poll or address in an editorial, so if the gaming love of your life wasn't mentioned here but qualifies for a Microsoft revival thanks to the Activision Blizzard acquisition, by all means, sound off in the comments.

Robert Carnevale
Robert Carnevale

Robert Carnevale is the News Editor for Windows Central. He's a big fan of Kinect (it lives on in his heart), Sonic the Hedgehog, and the legendary intersection of those two titans, Sonic Free Riders. He is the author of Cold War 2395. Have a useful tip? Send it to robert.carnevale@futurenet.com.

34 Comments
  • I vote Prototype, it was just a unique type of a game that would look excellent using the latest advancements in graphics.
  • Hopefully Microsoft doesn't consider it too much of a market overlap with Crackdown. I'd hate to see a potential Prototype revival get shafted for Crackdown.
  • Hello. Question for you. Once the deal closes, will the Backwards Compatibility Team go in and update all of the older Activision Blizzard games before they enter Game Pass or has that team moved on to other projects?
  • I do not work for Microsoft, so I do not know their teams' plans, unfortunately.
  • Never played the original, but I like the premise and I too would like to see something from that IP. Honestly, they should do EVERYTHING! It's more of a question what should they do first...
  • Star Craft! It was a great strategy game. I grew up on that series.
  • Yes starcraft please. Still the best story driven strategy game ever. Played the original and second one to death. Love them both
  • Other - their *original* IP from the 70s/80s for Atari, Coleco, etc. -- Pitfall, HERO, Keystone Kapers...
  • An Activision Replay, then?
  • Ooh, Pitfall. That's one of my favorite games from the 80s. But I like your suggestion. All those retro games need to be resurrected from the Activision crypt.
  • Heroes of the Storm! I would love to see it revitalized. Imagine Master Chief, Marcus Fenix, Ori, Doomguy etc. in the game. I think it's the opportunity for Microsoft to have a great MOBA game under their umbrella.
  • Crash Team Racing with Xbox franchises like the Psychonaughts and Rare characters or team ninja being back Tenchu
  • Would love to see another X-Men Legends or Wolverine game made by Ravensoft
  • MechAssault. Best 3rd person shooter.
  • Not to be boring, but it has been 18 years since a brand new Warcraft game came out.
  • I love all these suggestions!
  • Lol nothing from that list interests me, however, Toys for Bob could tackle Banjo. The last Crash Bandicoot was Pixar quality with great gameplay.
  • I'd love DJ Hero. Other than that, having a new Crash Team Racing game that pulls in Spyro and other characters like Psychonauts
  • I'd like to see a new Zork game and a remaster of Crash Bandicoot Wrath of Cortex.
  • Zork!! Yes please
  • Skylanders is what I want
  • Hexen, most 'kids' probably don't remember it, but a rebooted version would be like the new Doom games crossed with Skyrim....on steroids....with a dash of mushrooms.
  • Was there an article that was basically the same as this because I swear I've already answered this question in the comments here. It's HeXen by the way.
  • The other is telling, this one is asking.
    😂
  • The one you're referring to is linked in this very piece.
  • Prototype 1 (not 2) and it's possible sequel/prequel.
  • I want to see Starcraft 3 in addition with console controller support
  • Starcraft and Prototype. If I have to choose which one comes out first, I'm going to have to say Prototype because it's a third-person action game.
  • 1- There is no reason a full list of Activision dormant franchises. It's probably out there already. Or you could ask activision PR to compile it. Give them something positive to do. 2- Since we're beating the buyout horse to death, why not look at which MSG studios might want a crack at which Activision franchise. Some are obvious: ID - HeXen, Rare - Crash, Double Fine - Spyro. Others, less so.
    Conversely, some of the Activision studios might want a crack at some of the dormant MS IPs like Conker or Fusion Frenzy (King?) The deal will close before we're done speculating. 😏
  • just give me warcraft, not the MMO but the actual RTS
  • I would love to see the Skylanders series brought over to the Series consoles and be able to play them without the toys. Maybe unlock the characters via a progression system or put it on game pass and buy the characters as DLC.
  • Spyro, the original games were sooooo good, the problem is that we need someone as good as Insomniac and that's hard.
  • Infocom redux and X-men Legends 2 plz. The possibilities for Game Pass are staggering.
  • X-men Legends 2, yeah