
Okay, so, the big Activision Blizzard deal is officially happening - and we're already starting to get giddy about the future of Xbox Game Pass with them on board. Sure, we know that some of the team's newer titles like Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Diablo 4 won't be entering the library anytime soon, but older games in their respective franchises could well be on the way imminently.
And so, we've been thinking about all of the big ActiBlizz IP that's been missing from Game Pass for all these years, and which of them we're most excited to play in the near future. We're being realistic (for now) and thinking about franchises on Xbox with relatively recent entries - and even from that perspective there's plenty to get excited about.
Of course, the obvious answer is Call of Duty. There are so many Xbox releases here - and even the old Xbox 360 titles are pretty much all backwards compatible so there's plenty to pull from. A thriving Game Pass community hopping onto the original Modern Warfare, World at War, or Black Ops? We're going to have a field day revisiting these old classics!
Diablo has been mentioned here too, and again, while we won't be getting the latest release anytime soon - what about Diablo 2: Resurrected and Diablo 3? The pair of them could be great introductions to the series before Xbox & Blizzard figure out bringing Diablo 4 over; potentially sometime in 2024.
We said we're being realistic, but if we're talking ActiBlizz we must mention Crash & Spyro here. We'd love for the backwards compatibility team to spool up again and look at bringing some of those classic original Xbox & 360 era titles over to modern Xbox systems. There are so many lost Crash & Spyro titles from years gone by, and both franchises would add amazing value to Xbox Game Pass. Failing that, we'd still gladly accept the more recent entries from these two series!
Anyway, enough of our rambling, are there any Activision Blizzard franchises you're really excited to play on Xbox Game Pass? We're trying to be realistic here by sticking to the series' that are most likely to come sooner, but by all means, feel free to throw your pie-in-the-sky wishes down below as well.
Which Activision Blizzard series are you most hyped to play on Game Pass? Tell us in the comments section!
Comments 61
Spyro Trilogy first. I never caught that Egg Thief on PS2 as a kid and I seek vengeance.
Diablo. That is all. Its also enough for me. 👍
Obviously those with a penchant for shooting will get plenty of cod!
I'll probably play through a good chunk of old cod campaigns and definitely Diablo. Would love to have some warcraft/StarCraft on console....and rock n roll racing naturally.
World of Warcraft for starters, though maybe Starcraft too. And then a new Guitar Hero, please...
A new series, and third person action RPG please:)
Diablo 2 remastered, Crash and Spyro trilogies, and old COD campaigns
I own most ABK stuff that I would like to play, like Prototype, Crash and Spyro. Some of them gifts, some of them i got a long long time ago.
I never bought a CoD game though and I kinda would like to play some of the campaigns so there is that.
Diablo 2 Remake was another one I would like to play but avoided because it came out after the point I decided to boycott anything touched by Kotick, so maybe I finally get around to playing it.
Pie in the sky? Get the rights to re-list the Transformers and 007 games, and make them BC!
Pie in the moon? Every single Marvel ABK game (from Spider-Man to Wolverine and X-Men Legends)
Maybe diablo or Crash
I am nostalgic about "Pitfall! A Mayan Adventure", from the 16-bit era. It's a loooooong shot, but I'd be happy if it came back. I wouldn't mind the original Pitfall! from the Atari 2600 with achievements either
I wouldn't mind some of the Crash games. Never really played them since the PSX days. Might be a bit of a laugh.
I have already been talking to a few friends that I used to play COD zombie mode with. We are ready to jump back in.
Otherwise I'm hoping for a large pc drop. Warcraft, diablo 1 &2, etc.
None really to be honest I'll play them but I don't buy there games at all I enjoyed crash 4 and tony hawks that's it I've already played them games it's what upcoming games are going be made that excites me more tony hawks crash hexen and other games bought back from the dead
I'd like some kind of WoW on consoles. Perhaps even separated from PC servers. But 99% sure that won't happen.
I've lost any interest in COD starting from Black Ops perhaps and have no plans to return. Other games from AB portfolio has already been completed, so...
Spyro, Crash and diablo are up on the list, however what I really want to play is 2 of my favourite games and still to this day the best thing to come out of blizzard aka LOST VIKINGS (and I am not even kidding 😂)
StarCraft, no contest.
Diablo 4 because $70+ for any game is basically criminal.
Its easy for me to type this here as i have no real understanding of the work involved in a deal like this, but having to wait months(apparently) to get some games on gamepass seems a bit long, how difficult could it be to put games like spyro and crash on GP when they are already available on series x/s?
None, I have zero interest in any of their franchises. When MS bought Besthesda on the other hand, it had a much bigger impact for me as a gamer. Beside gamepass it’s THE reason why I bought a XsX.
Judging from these comments Xbox overpaid lol ….However I think we will all enjoy everything once they are added…
All the COD games on gamepass would be huge..
I’d love to see WoW on consoles. I’d love a new Warcraft RTS and to see StarCraft in a third person game like ghosts
I would want a proper Spyro 4 like Crash 4, one that ignores everything that came after the original trilogy and picks up where that left off.
Then I would like to see a THPS 3+4 and a proper THPS 6 by the same people who made THPS 1+2.
@Titntin DO it!! It’s a great game and season 2 drops tomorrow. Hope it’s out on GP early next year for you!! 😊
I think most said what they wanted in the very similar article to this the other day.
StarCraft hands down.
But I would play Diablo 4 too
For me it’s World of Warcraft. Arguably the most unlikely and difficult one to get. But it would be huge and really really exciting to see. It could even be a console seller. Wow is still insanely popular and many many others have said if they had a PC they would play it. So that tells me if it came to a $300-$500 dollar console and plays well, it could move some Xbox’s. A move MS has to at least give some thought into if it’s doable.
Some of these don't have a series of them but for me it would be great if they could manage to put these on gamepass, Crash twinsanity, Gun, Scarface: the world is yours, Simpsons hit & run, True Crime: Streets of LA, Soldier of fortune, the tenchu games & the guitar hero games and many more.
I would give World of Warcraft a go if it were included in PC Game Pass. I don't know though, that seems unlikely to ever happen.
Other than that, I would replay Spyro: Reignited Trilogy and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 on PC (had the former on PS4 and the latter on XBO).
@Tharsman
You and I are kindred spirits.
Activision / Neversoft / Vicarious Visions Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro
StarCraft obviously
Make online play free
It woold be great to get ultimate alliance but not gonna happen. Wanna try COD campaigns. Never played diablo so give then a go.
Already own everything I care about - the Activision games have been on good sales repeatedly. I guess maybe one of the BC CoD games I'm not too interested in I could try first?
Breathe some new life into Heroes of the Storm by adding Xbox characters and maps! And bring StarCraft Ghost back from the dead!
Call of Duty, Warcraft, Diablo that's all I need.
Diablo - although I guess most funs have already purchased games of their favourite series and their inclusion into GPU is thus primarily an attraction for new players.
It would be also great to port their PC-only games to Xbox.
Glad it's not a poll of current IPs are a lot of good legacy ones to mention.
Old COD not on BC yet.
Pitfall, Singularity, TimeShift, Hexen, Prototype.
Probably some Blizzard I'm unaware of. Starcraft Ghost prototype though hmm.
Sierra/Vivendi games.
SWAT Global Strike Team from OG Xbox.
Spyro 4 I mean if it's good. Reignited has some quality of life but the eh character weight, eh changes of the Sparx levels rewards, the gem finder was a quality of life but nothing replaced it as a rewards for doing the Sparx level? Why? The others offered theirs so just the gems/egg isn't appealing enough.
I hope they offer good enough abilities/worlds and what not. I don't even mind the breath mechanics of Enter The Dragonfly/Hero's Tail or the GBA games.
Thing is I don't care for Spyro 3 like minigames/RPG like side quests it got tedious and less enjoyable at times. Spyro 1 is sure basic but at least it's pacing was fair for how they wanted to go about the enemy types (birds, big, small, 2 hit, etc.), the level design, the supercharge, the fairies, metal enemies, theives and more that people overlook.
What I 'm saying is I don't care for Indie platformers that are too Mario 64/Banjo like. I want more balance there is a reason I find most third party N64 games more exciting then the first party is the ideas on offer with Chameleon Twist's tongue still never replicated in grapple hook games, Space Station Silicon Valley multiple characters/food chain and more approach and goals, Glover's heavy, medium and fragile state of the ball/crystal and other things Glover can do.
Not just Mario's flexible platforming/power ups and Banjo varied movesets sure but RPG style quests and minigames I have no interest in at all. There is a reason I prefer the out there than the popular is the popular have been done, why not try something else. It's why I'm not that big on Indie 3D platformers when what their inspirations/nostalgia target audience will buy.
If want easy sales sure be bland, if want a more exciting game to stand out make one. Put more interesting ideas on the formulas, or different enough again.
Make GUN available. Better yet a new GUN or remake.
Guitar Hero (and make a new guitar pls), Tony Hawks, Blackthorne, Starcraft, and I really hope MS let's Toys for Bob and Raven be more than CoD support studios. They deserve better.
I want Blur back
My pipe dream is that MS brings Sekiro to gamepass with full next gen patch, to fill a hole in action adventure genre.
I would love to see Vicarious Visions, Tony Hawks Pro Skater 1+2 on Game Pass and Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2.
@Tharsman @Markatron84 Yes and Yes! Sadly most of the games I want are probably unlikely, like you mentioned all the licenced stuff - Transformers, Spider-man, 007, Marvel incl Wolverine etc.
All the recent stuff like remakes of Crash, Spyro, THPS I already have so realistically some older titles like Prototype, Singularity, I suppose a few of the COD campaigns I haven't played.
That's about it to be honest which, for me personally, is not a lot considering they paid $69 billion. There was more for me in the Zenimax one I was interested in.
@RazputinAquato I'm with you! Both the original and the Mayan Adventure are the ones I would want most too!
@themightyant I haven't played a COD campaign since WWII, and before that Kevin Spacey Warfare, but I've heard good things about the Modern Warfare reboot games so I'd probably check those out.
@STX oh man, Blur. Other than Mario Kart, it's the only racing game I've ever got my wife to play split-screen with me. She loves that game, and for good reason 👍
I would love if they brought back the Activision run of James Bond games, mainly Blood Stone and Goldeneye, but know that is unlikely since they no longer hold the licence and they may require some extra work for backwards compatability
@Markatron84 Nice, that's a fair few COD campaigns for you. Always fun. I forgot about Blur. I enjoyed that game at the time, not as much as Split/Second, which came out around the same time, but both were good.
Everything because I enjoy most of the games they have made over the years
@themightyant The transformers stuff might actually happen just not anytime soon. Hasbro openly expressed interest on having all their video games (at least the ABK ones) on Game Pass back when there was some noise about ABK potentially having lost all the source code (it was clarified the source code has not been lost). Thing is the BC program is for all purposes closed, so the most likely chance is the games get ports or remasters, and that takes time.
The 007 games are a bit harder, I have heard a lot the license is harder to work with these days and the only reason IOI got the rights to make their game is they are not just making a pew-pew-kill-everything game. But we can hope, maybe those are also possible to resurrect.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance is tricky because Nintendo currently holds that license. Wolverine and Spider-Man the same with Sony. X-Men Legends might be realistic.
Hulk Ultimate Destruction is also a possibility, it was published by Vivendi Universal Games that ended up being folded into Activision.
i'd be down to give Diablo a shot.
@Tharsman It's incorrect that Sony have the license for Spider-man and Wolverine across all games, they have the license for the specific games they made. It's a common misconception, but these characters can, and are, in other Marvel games on other platforms, including Xbox. But yes others are complicated. Fingers crossed.
Absolutely nothing!!! Big waste of money imo. All we’ll see now is folk being quietly laid off, very little output from any of these studios within the next two years and an increase to the gamepass subscription prices!!
All those studios, very little output. Embarrassing
Bring back 'The Movies' you cowards.
@themightyant I have said as much plenty of times, but as far as I can tell, Sony does have the rights to exclusively publish games with the headline title Spider-Man.
Anyone could make a Daredevil game, with Spider-Man as a cameo or playable alt character, but I doubt their contract is so weak that anyone else can simply publish another Spider-Man titled game. What leads me to think this? The fact that ABK was forced to delist every single Spider-Man game they had the day Sony got the license.
@hbkay I'm not very fond of most of Activision output in the last decade either, but you can't deny that Call of Duty and Candy Crush print money... it's not about the depth of ABK's portfolio, it's about the constant cash stream it brings to the table.
@Tharsman interesting theory, anything’s possible I suppose, just wondering if you have any evidence for that, or if is it just an assumption?
DelistedGames.com shows the games were delisted twice but states it was due to Activision’s license expiring, and suggests they had a timed deal, nothing to do with Sony.
@themightyant it's an educated guess based on the timing of the Activision Spider Man games delisting. I think similar happened when Marvel Ultimate Alliance rights were acquired by Nintendo, the remasters vanished.
I dont have ties to game publishing, but do have connection with book publishing, and its very unlikely that anyone would buy the rights to a game in X series without some level of exclusivity.
There are some "wider" nets, like, doubt Marvel will ever again give full Star Wars license to anyone the way they did with EA for a few years, but specific sub-ip branches? That's more likely to get timed exclusivity (that Disney can refuse to renew at any point.)
That aside I meant to mention in my previous post that its always possible that MS could influence Sony to carve a space to re-publish older Spider-Man game anthologies so long they also get ported to PS5, and have some label like "Classic Spider-Man Anthology" or what not. With ABK on their pocket, MS now has a **lot** of bargaining powers.
@RazputinAquato the original Pitfall! would be CRAZY....and I'd be all over it!!
I'm most excited for the Sierra IP that was owned by Activision, that is now under Microsoft control.
King's Quest
Space Quest
Quest for Glory
Gabriel Knight
Conquest of Camelot/the Longbow
Police Quest
Phantasmagoria
No One Lives Forever
Freddy Pharkas
Shivers
Lighthouse
The list goes on and on...
I want new entries in all of these franchises! Let's go!!!
I’d like to see some new games! I’d like see MS say here’s a blank cheque, make us a sensational, exclusive game!! Like Sony do with their acquired devs. COD, Diablo, Tony Hawkes, etc are great games but had MS not bought Activision we’d have still got those games. I want a TLOU or Uncharted or God of War or Spiderman competitor. Playstation acquired devs bring us new games that always smash reviews. Xbox need do same!!
@Tharsman I agree it could make logical sense in some way, but correlation does not equal causation, and with the evidence we have it seems more likely that Activision had a short, timed license agreement, not a longer one, and this expired.
I say that for 2 reasons.
1) Some games already expired once, e.g. Shattered Dimensions which was delisted in Jan 2014 and had to be relisted before being delisted again. It was specifically stated this was due to their license expiring.
2) This happened across franchises that Activision had the license for. It seems clear either Marvel were being super-tight about license lengths, overcharging for longer ones or Activision were being tight, and short-sighted, about paying the longer license fee. Probably somewhere in the middle and Activision didn't see value in paying for longer as most games sales are often in the first year and they saw little ROI longer term.
It is possible that subsequently Sony has an exclusive license that stops other new 'Spider-man' games being sold, I agree that's likely. What I think is less likely is one that stops any historic Spider-man games being sold, but anything's possible. Though negotiating a new license would likely be harder now theirs has lapsed. I just think we need to be clearer about what is speculation, what isn't, and be careful about making assumptions based off things we don't know. These things perpetuate and only stir the already boiling pot.
Older CODs for the campaigns, Diablo 2-3 and I would love to see StarCraft added with console support or at least make it a Mouse Keyboard only game for Xbox.
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