Xbox Head Hopes to Revive Dormant Activision Franchises

Microsoft's CEO of Gaming Phil Spencer says he's looking to revive Activision franchises that have been left to languish once Activision Blizzard has been brought into the fold at Microsoft.

"I was looking at the IP list, I mean, let's go!" he said in an interview with The Washington Post. "King's Quest, Guitar Hero... I should know this but I think they got HeXen."

Microsoft announced it had acquired Activision Blizzard earlier this week for a record-breaking $68.7 billion. Spencer said once the acquisition is approved, he hopes to get his team talking to the studios in Activision Blizzard's stable about which old IP they want to revive.

"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.

"I'm looking forward to these conversations. I really think it's about adding resources and increasing capability."

Other IP in the Activision arsenal include Crash Bandicoot, Tony Hawk, Skylanders, Spyro, True Crime, Blur, Singularity and Geometry Wars. Although Crash and Tony Hawk received new installments in the last few years, the studios responsible — Toys for Bob and Vicarious Visions, respectively — have been absorbed into the larger Activision Blizzard structure, and are working on Call of Duty. It remains to be seen if Activision under Microsoft will redeploy their talents..