Xbox's Phil Spencer "all in" on revisiting older franchises
CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer has revealed that he would be fully supportive if teams at Xbox and Activision Blizzard are interested in revisiting its older IPs in the future.
The details:
Spencer revealed Microsoft's strategy for reviving older franchises in a new episode of the Official Xbox Podcast, stating that it does not force studios to work on the projects, instead visiting teams to learn what they are passionate about. According to the executive, this reduces the likelihood of the company failing to deliver on the product as teams will be "motivated" by passion rather than financial gain.
Speaking of previous Xbox revivals, he says that while the company has done an "OK job" in the past, he hopes to do an "A+ job" in the future, with Game Pass giving its teams the "ability to maybe pick a couple of franchises every year" to revisit, such as Raven Software's 90s FPS Hexen.
Spencer also stated that he would fully support studios reviving past IPs if they so desired and that there is an "amazing trove of things that we can go and touch again." He went on to say that this is true not only for Activision Blizzard, which has franchises like Tony Hawk and Guitar Hero but also for Microsoft's other subsidiaries like Bethesda, which recently remastered Quake II.
More Microsoft news:
Spencer has pledged to end timed exclusivity in Call of Duty, claiming that platform-exclusive skins and betas do "nothing but harm the community" and that the company will instead strive for "100% parity" across all platforms.
Bethesda's Pete Hines has announced his retirement after more than 24 years with the company. The executive stated that he will now spend his time "exploring interests and passions" and "taking more time to enjoy life," but he will remain active in the community.
