Xbox boss keen to revive dormant Activision franchises
Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said he is keen to revive Activision franchises the publisher has recently ignored.
Spencer also suggested Activision studios such as Crash Bandicoot 4 developer Toys for Bob would also be released from its recent retooling to become cogs in the Call of Duty machine.
«I was looking at the IP list, I mean, let's go!» Spencer told The Washington Post. "'King's Quest,' 'Guitar Hero,'… I should know this but I think they got 'HeXen.'"
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On the topic of developers like Toys for Bob, Spencer said his team would talk to studios about working on games from Activision Blizzard's franchise history.
«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,» Spencer continued.
«I'm looking forward to these conversations. I really think it's about adding resources and increasing capability.»
Aside from Crash, Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk, Activision also owns the rights to Skylanders, Spyro, True Crime, Blur, Singularity and Geometry Wars, among others.
Fans of Crash Bandicoot and Tony Hawk games have been left in limbo, as the studios behind their recent releases were reassigned to other work.
Currently, all of Activision's many development studios are building bits of Call of Duty — such as Warzone, additions to the recent Vanguard, or development on this year's Modern Warfare 2.
This morning, a report suggested Activision was now considering plans to ditch Call of Duty's annual release schedule, which still sees a new boxed release churned out every 12 months.
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