Dead Activision Blizzard Franchises Microsoft Should Bring Back

Blackthorne

It's clip to bring backmost Blizzard's classical cinematic platformer. While there's a batch of "you had to beryllium determination erstwhile the archetypal rubric was applicable backmost successful the ‘90s,” Blackthorne is simply a marque acceptable to get backmost into the crippled with immoderate caller position and the benefits of plentifulness of genre slots to capable in. Think astir making a third-person shooter RPG with Kyle "Blackthrone" Vlaros dishing retired justice. Let's bash it, Microsoft! – Daniel Tack

Geometry Wars

Bizarre Creations’ 2005 arcade shooter Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved was 1 of the aboriginal Xbox Live Arcade hits, and it helped beryllium determination was a marketplace for “small” downloadable games. The marketplace has evidently changed a batch successful the past decennary plus, but top-down multi-directional shooters are inactive a unreserved to play. We haven’t seen overmuch from this bid since the merchandise of Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions successful 2014. I’d emotion to spot this bid reinvented for the modern console market. Flashier graphics, persistent upgrades, and customizable ships would beryllium good, but I’m besides unfastened to a back-to-basics approach. Either way, it’s clip for those classical shapes to bash conflict erstwhile again. – Ben Reeves

Guitar Hero

Gun

I’m a sucker for a bully Western and anterior to Red Dead Redemption, 2005’s Gun fulfilled my cowboy fantasies. It featured galore ideas Rockstar would amended upon specified arsenic a ample chaotic westbound to roam, plentifulness of broadside quests and mini-games, and a no-nonsense protagonist successful Colton White. I loved Gun astatine the time, but I person nary thought however you lucifer the barroom acceptable by Red Dead (especially aft 2). However, with archetypal developer Neversoft gone with the wind, that’s connected a caller workplace to fig out. The constituent is: we don’t get capable triple-A occidental games for my liking truthful let’s particulate disconnected Gun for 1 much ride. – Marcus Stewart

Pitfall

It’s hard to look astatine the line-up Microsoft has cultivated and pinpoint a crippled archetype that’s not already covered. With the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Xbox whitethorn person conscionable covered a basal Sony has had locked down for implicit a decade: a blockbuster treasure hunt. With Pitfall, Microsoft could person an Uncharted rival with decades of past and old-school sanction recognition. Follow Pitfall Harriette, a smarmy explorer with immedicable charm, connected a quest to find an elusive, otherworldly artifact. Harriette volition beryllium obligated to plaything crossed a stream of crocodiles connected a vine, of course. It truly writes itself. – John Carson

StarCraft: Ghost

While StarCraft sits with the pantheon of Activision Blizzard franchises, it's somewhat dormant compared to the others. Sure, determination person been updates to multiplayer and characters added to the StarCraft II package, but the communicative has been implicit for rather immoderate time. My prime for the adjacent absorption to instrumentality the abstraction phantasy bid is simply a revival of a crippled that ne'er saw the airy of day. I accidental manus the keys of StarCraft: Ghost implicit to the Gears of War squad astatine The Coalition. The workplace has plentifulness of chops making third-person shooters with a sci-fi crook and could nail the consciousness of the guns utilized by the Terran soldiers. Set the communicative successful the past and play retired a captious ngo arsenic Sarah Kerrigan earlier becoming the Queen of Blades. Give america a look astatine what it's similar being a stealth operative successful an interstellar warfare against precocious abstraction psychics and ravenous mutations. Given however beauteous Gears 5 looked past gen, I tin lone ideate however stunning the worlds and acceptable pieces would beryllium successful this hypothetical Kerrigan’s Ghost adventure. – John Carson

Zork

Bring backmost Zork arsenic an idle substance MMORPG. Most radical retrieve Zork. The text. Going North. Being eaten by a Grue. Trying to unfastened trophy cases and wandering into the basement. Now it's clip to play Zork: The Idle MMORPG. You fundamentally acceptable it and hide it and your bags capable with loot, but you tin ticker procedurally generated movement, storytelling, and combat arsenic it plays! I can't hold to cheque my telephone for a ton of spell southbound commands and mailbox openings! – Daniel Tack