Phil Spencer wants to talk to Blizzard about classic RTS games like StarCraft
The Xbox boss wants to “talk about back catalog and opportunities that we might have”
Microsoft’s head of gaming has said he’s keen to sit down with Blizzard to discuss potential opportunities for its classic RTS games such as StarCraft.
Speaking to Wired, Phil Spencer was asked if he would like to revive the sci-fi strategy series, once Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard completes.
“The first thing I would say is, I’m not allowed to make any decisions about what happens at Blizzard or Activision or King,” he replied. “So this is all just kind of talking and thinking about what the opportunity is, but you’re absolutely right.
“Not only StarCraft, but WarCraft, when you think about the heritage of RTS games that we’re talking about here, specifically from Blizzard. And I don’t have any concrete plans today because I can’t really get in and work with the teams.
“But StarCraft was a seminal moment in gaming, right? From an esports perspective, from RTS on console perspective, and from just an RTS storytelling perspective in the genre.”
He added: “And I’m excited about getting to sit down with the teams at Activision and Blizzard and King to talk about back catalog and opportunities that we might have.
“So I will dodge the question other than to say it’s not something I can actively work on right now. But the thought of being able to think about what could happen with those franchises is pretty exciting to me, as somebody who spent a lot of hours playing those games.”
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has also expressed a desire for the company to revive classic franchises under Xbox, should its acquisition be approved by regulators.
Speaking to VentureBeat earlier this year, Kotick cited Guitar Hero and Skylanders as two franchises that were extremely popular for Activision in the past but were eventually shelved for numerous reasons.
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One of these reasons was the need for a separate manufacturing team, something Kotick says he wasn’t prepared to set up but that he feels Microsoft should be equipped for.
He also said he hoped Microsoft would use its social integration tools to make the Candy Crush series a more engaging multiplayer experience.
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