The case has been on everyone’s lips for several days: Microsoft’s attempted takeover of Activision Blizzard risks reshuffling a few cards… and reviving licenses that have disappeared?
Because he sometimes goes out of his way to talk about something other than his compensation, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick spoke to our colleagues at VentureBeat about future opportunities. Since the whole industry knows that Microsoft hopes to buy the studio owning the Call of Duty, Warcraft, Candy Crush, Tony Hawk, Diablo, Overwatch, Spyro, Hearthstone, Guitar Hero, Crash Bandicoot, StarCraft licenses, the questions are flying.
We of which need another Guitar Hero
Kotick took the opportunity to return to the discussions already underway between Activision Blizzard and Microsoft. While many of the licenses still alive are likely to make the heyday of Redmond accountants, the CEO in the midst of a storm outlines potential comebacks:
Phil Spencer and I started discussing the future. I’ll give you some really compelling examples. There was a period where I wanted to make a new Guitar Hero, but I couldn’t tear off teams to work on manufacturing and the accessory supply chain. Not to mention the shortage of chips to contend with.
If the Guitar Hero series has effectively disappeared since the Live episode of 2015, it remains a safe bet in the Activision Blizzard catalog, with the trifle of 25 million games sold around the world.
The Skylanders’ the limit
But despite this critical and commercial success, the production of physical accessories remains a handicap for the publisher, which hopes to take advantage of Microsoft’s know-how to retune its guitars, and even go a little further:
I had a really cool vision of what the next Guitar Hero would be, and realized we didn’t have the resources to do it. It’s the same for Skylanders. One of my big disappointments was that new people came in and offered shitty alternatives, and destroyed the market. And it was the same for Skylanders. But what we couldn’t do, Microsoft can.
Will Microsoft restart production of plastic guitars and other NFC figurines? The suspense is… total?
Which Activision Blizzard licenses would you like to see reborn? Let us know your shredded thoughts in the comments below!
