Even though the acquisition of Activision Blizzard is not yet complete, Phil Spencer is already looking forward to being able to work on two very specific licenses.
As the Activision Blizzard acquisition falters and Sony shivers, the Xbox industry leader is already pondering what he might do with the publisher’s iconic games other than Call of Duty if the acquisition is ever validated.
Xbox has two Blizzard legends in its crosshairs
Yes, because if the fight between Microsoft and Sony mainly has the shooter in its sights, Activision Blizzard also has other licenses under its belt, some of which are real classics in their genre, albeit less “popular” than the famous FPS.
We’re obviously talking about StarCraft and WarCraft, two series of STR (Real Time Strategy) games that have marked the history of video games. Despite its great qualities, StarCraft still managed to place its second episode as one of the forerunners of esports (particularly in South Korea).
While WarCraft in turn has spawned an exceedingly rich universe and the now cult MMO World of Warcraft. It’s also thanks to WarCraft 3 that a genre was born, the MOBA (DOTA 2, League of Legends), exactly that. Two flagship licenses that helped Blizzard make a name for themselves and are now the home of Phil Spencer in the have visor.
StarCraft and WarCraft back soon?
Asked in the columns of Wired Regarding Xbox’s relationship with STRs since acquiring Relic Entertainment (Age of Empires 4, Age of Mythology), Phil Spencer said he was very excited about the idea of investigating the case of StarCraft and WarCraft.
First off, I would say that I’m not allowed to make decisions about what happens at Blizzard, Activision, or King. These are just discussions and reflections on the options available to us. And not just StarCraft, there’s WarCraft too, considering the legacy of RTS games and Blizzard in particular. Today I don’t have any specific projects because I can’t really go there and work with the teams. But StarCraft, for example, was a cornerstone in video game history, wasn’t it? Strategy games and storytelling in the RTS genre from an esports perspective.
So I’m looking forward to speaking with the teams at Activision and Blizzard to talk about any opportunities we might have. I can’t actively work on that at the moment, but the idea of being able to think about what might happen to these franchises is very exciting to me since I’ve spent many hours playing these games.
Phil Spencer at Wired
Nothing is in the works for now and Phil Spencer’s hands are still tied until the acquisition is confirmed. But if this ends here, there’s a good chance we’ll find StarCraft and WarCraft in the Xbox ecosystem in one way or another. Whether it’s remakes (the big trend) or new works, you never know.
