With Microsoft announcing the acquisition of Activision Blizzard earlier this week, the topic of Xbox Game Studios potentially commissioning a Super Smash Bros. style multiplayer game has cropped up once again. There are a few reasons why you might not want to pursue it, but in our opinion, it's an absolute no-brainer... if done right.
The most obvious reason is because Microsoft owns a ridiculously incredible range of classic characters now, and the roster would be absolutely insane. From Master Chief to the DOOM Slayer to Crash Bandicoot to Banjo-Kazooie — the potential here is near-endless, so it's already off to an amazing start on the drawing board.
That means the stages would be incredible, too. Can you imagine battling it out on Zeta Halo, in the skies of Microsoft Flight Simulator, amongst the blocky worlds of Minecraft and in front of the colourful backdrop of Ori and the Will of the Wisps? Again, this sort of thing pretty much writes itself, so the potential is there for everyone to see.
So, why wouldn't you want to do it? Well, you could look at Sony's PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale from 2012 which didn't prove as successful as Smash Bros. whatsoever, and the recent Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl hasn't achieved that level of success either. But thanks to Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft has good reason to take a chance on this.
And of course, there's the fact that Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has said on numerous occasions that he'd like to see more family friendly content as part of the Xbox Game Studios portfolio. With Activision Blizzard bringing the likes of Crash and Spyro to Xbox, it would make total sense and align with Phil's "family friendly" vision for them to be integrated into a fun, accessible multiplayer game for players of all ages and skill levels.
Microsoft has had numerous chances to go down this path over the past 20 years, but now is undoubtedly the best possible time to do it. Make no mistake though — in order to do it well, it's going to take a lot of hard work from some of the most talented teams under the Xbox Game Studios banner (along with a fair chunk of change). The blueprints are in place for something special here, and we're confident Team Xbox can live up to the task.
Would you want to see a Smash Bros. style game created by Xbox? Let us know in the comments below.
Comments 42
Leave it to Nintendo. Let’s not have MS taking everything away. I love my Xbox and Switch but sometimes we need variety on different machines without trying to make copycat games all the time that end up being poor imitations.
"Mabe, depends." It would depend if it was a blatant ripoff similar to PlayStation All-Stars or Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl. Those games weren't good. I think if Xbox is going to have their own Smash Bros, it has to be something other than a brawler. It can be a shooter or an RPG. But if we are keeping it in the fighting genre, just expand Killer Instinct to include more guests. Sequel 1: Killer Instinct 2: Clever Subtext. Sequel 2: Formerly Subtext, Now Proper Title 2.There's a rumor the next Mario Kart is doing the same thing.
Def yes, would be cool to have. (If done right)
Forza Car vs. Flight Sim plane!
I like the idea of a combined universe game but not a smash clone. It should be some type of arena shooter/slasher game. That would fit these properties better.
Also, there would have to be separation between the mature games and mascots. I just can’t see the chainsaw gun being used to slash Spyro in half. It just doesn’t feel right. You’d have to have the family style game and the mature one.
I mean it doesn't have to be specifically a fighting game but any other game really where all these IPs cross over. It would be a huge waste of opportunity if we didn't see a crossover game from Microsoft after all these acquisitions.
@jarvismp what would Microsoft be taking away exactly? Should Crash Team Racing not exist because Nintendo already has Mario Kart? If MS made a brawler, that wouldn't suddenly make SSB null and void. For people who don't have a Switch, a fun brawler might be a good thing.
Would be great. They could also add Microsoft characters (and tracks) to Crash Team Racing.
Super Smash Box
I actually really liked Playstation All-Stars and still want Sony to give it another go. I never understood the argument that only Nintendo can do this sort of thing. There's nothing wrong with competition. I love Smash but it's not a perfect game by any stretch of the imagination.
Imagine if we had this sort of mindset when Street Fighter 2 first busted onto the scene. We wouldn't have Mortal Kombat or Guilty Gear or...heck maybe even Super Smash Bros.
So yeah absolutely bring on a Microsoft Smash clone. I'd love to see Master Chief throw a plasma grenade on Crash!
Funny, I was saying this the other day - maybe Beenox will make a Kart Racer/Smash Bros/party game with characters from Spyro, Crash, Banjo, Conker, Psychonauts, Halo, Doom, Quake, Hexen, Perfect Dark, CoD, Warcraft, Skyrim, Fallout, Dishonoured, Fable, Hellblade, Gears of War etc etc...
So much potential for 'cross overs'...
I thought about this idea and have come yo the conclusion that the game probably wouldn’t be that much fun since the majority of characters on Xbox use guns. It would be difficult to make a platform fighter with a roster of characters with unique play styles when they all use similar weapons. Since most Microsoft characters use guns, why not make it a shooter? I think they could make a cool hero/arena shooter.
I don't see why not. It isn't like the game would compete for Smash sales since it'd be a console exclusive. Not really sure why Sony dropped PS All Stars, but that has no bearing on MS.
@MattWithoutFear fair point
I'd rather have a racing game. A spiritual successor to Diddy Kong Racing. And now Xbox is poised to own Crash Team Racing... maybe keep the name, maybe not, but add other Xbox properties to the mix, like Banjo, Conker, Raz, Fallout's Vault Boy, cutesy versions of Master Chief (or Mister Chief) and other characters from mature franchises...
Anyway, it doesn't have to be a Racing game or a fighting game, but everybody would be down for a crossover party game regardless of the genre.
@Johnnel The majority of Nintendo characters in Smash use swords, lol. Really though, this isn't that much of an issue anymore. Xbox owns so much IP, they would have no trouble finding characters that exclusively do not use guns.
Micro kart? Xbox party? Microsoft tennis all stars?
Xbox golf tour? Why not
If they find the right developer for it, hell yes!
I think it would be better if Microsoft brought back Killer Instinct and then add 1st party characters in that like they added RAAM (from Gears) and Arbiter (from Halo) in the most recent game.
Microsoft has had a gold mine of Rare IPs to use since the Rare acquisition 20 years ago but have mostly left them to rot away.
This should be what Killer Instinct 2 is. They had a few guest characters expand that out with activision and zenimax ip and more halo/GoW characters.
Their shooters could easily have crossovers, at least in the multiplayer. Bj blaskowitz, doom guy, Marcus fenix, master chief, etc should be playable in most of their shooters.
Or they could make a conkers style or splatoon style shooter with a mix all of their mascots. Or a goldeneye type MP shooter combining all their shooter mascots.
I personally wasn’t a fan of the Smash series. I tried a few of them and they just weren’t my thing, but it definitely makes sense for Microsoft to do something like this. Doesn’t have to be an exact clone, but with all those IP’s, do something with mixing them up.
Doom slayer would be OP.
At this point, Fork Knife is the smash bros of shooters. But for those saying that xbox shouldn't make a smash clone, smash bros was inspired by a 1995 fighting game
I'd rather have a Kart game.
One the Activision deal goes through, they'll have Beenox, who did Crash Team Racing.
I'd put them to task on Xbox Allstars Team Racing (or whatever you want to call it).
More chance of nailing that than a Smash Bros style game.
Before that, as it’s a much easier win, they could add Xbox characters and tracks to the existing Crash Tram Racing engine
No it would be a bad idea. Remember when Playstation tried that??
I like the idea if it's well done and it doesn't look and play cheap. Microsoft just have one fighting game, Killer Instinct and around 10? FPS IPs so this idea could work. However, before this happens I'd love an arcade racer like Xbox Team Racing including Banjo, Kazooie, Conker, Spyro, Crash, Coco, Tawna, Raz, Rash, Zitz, Pimple, Master Chief, Juno, Vela, Lupus... I would love hearing Chris Seavor again, he did an amazing job voicing Conker.
Honestly with the Activision IP's they might as well, they finally got a big list of iconic characters.
@isturbo1984 I counted about 25 characters on a roster of about 90 that use swords in Super Smash Bros Ultimate. That’s definitely not a majority. While Microsoft now owns a lot of IP’s that they could find characters that do not use guns, the most popular characters that they most likely would include do use guns. Master Chief, Marcus Fenix, Doomguy, characters from CoD like Captain Price, Overwatch characters, Fallout characters, etc. all use guns. That would be a lot of projectile focused characters. Think about how well the game would be received if half the roster was Deadshot from Injustice 2.
@Tasuki PlayStation and Nickelodeon were bad because of a lack of budget and strict deadlines, there are good non-Smash Platform Fighters like Rivals of Aether and Slap City for example.
Tenchu and various Guitar Heroes!!!
O gawd no. I can't take 4 more years of "Waluigi 4 Microsoft Crash Bros '22" and Persona 5 is coming to Xbox because Teddy was in the backdrop during the Sonic reveal;
I sooo sooooo want a Microsoft Smash game
There are about a million things I'd rather see Microsoft throw money at than a Smash Bros. clone doomed to mediocrity.
@Johnnel You really don't see any non-gun-wielders within Microsoft's recent IP purchases of the last few years my man?
Good idea on paper, but watching The Doomslayer perform a glory kill on Crash Bandicoot would probably traumatise me.
Nobody remembers Small Arms? 🧀
@Dunric That's the problem right, just like the new free-to-play and Nickelodeon variants: they're just not good enough.
I personally messaged Phil to ask about a Playstation vs Xbox Smash game! Would be epic
Microsoft “smash” would be so sweaty, and as they have many more shooter properties it would make more sense to do a TPS of some kind, if anything.
Bring back Fusion Frenzy and Killer Instinct and scratch all the itches. Save the metaverse stuff
for Epic and Nintendo.
I'd love to see this, but almost every time someone else has tried to make one it never has the fun and magic of Smash.
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