Activision, Microsoft Reportedly Form New Team to Work on Smaller Games

Is Xbox looking to put more focus on AA games?

By Marc Deschamps

Last year, Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which brought a lot of existing franchises under the Xbox umbrella. Microsoft is apparently looking for ways to better utilize these franchises, and apparently a new studio has been created within Blizzard to focus on new titles connected to StarCraft, Warcraft, Overwatch, and other franchises. However, these will not be major AAA games. According to a report from Windows Central, this new studio will instead focus on smaller, less expensive AA games. 

At this time, we don't know what platforms the new studio will be creating games for, but Windows Central speculates that the team could end up working on mobile games. The new studio is apparently made up of several developers that were previously working for King, the Blizzard owned studio behind games like Candy Crush. However, the outlet goes on to say that Microsoft is increasingly looking to adapt a "Nintendo-like" model of collaboration between smaller teams, given the increasing costs and risk associated with AAA development. 

Regardless of whether this specific studio is working on games for console, Windows Central notes that Xbox is looking to give smaller games an increased focus. In the Switch era, Nintendo has kept a steady stream of first-party exclusives, with remasters and AA games filling the gaps between AAA titles like Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Following the Activision Blizzard acquisition, Xbox certainly owns enough IP that it could find success with a similar model, and Xbox boss Phil Spencer has frequently shared his desire to dig into Activision Blizzard's treasure chest of IPs. 

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The current console generation has been a difficult one for the Xbox brand. Xbox Series X|S has struggled to compete with PlayStation and Nintendo, and a lack of exclusive games has been a big part of the problem. While there are a lot of exciting games in the pipeline, there's simply too long a wait between exclusives. Embracing AA games could not only solve that problem, but it could also result in fewer franchises feeling abandoned. If the AA push extends to all Xbox owned franchises, it could mean that we see new Banjo-Kazooie and Conker's Bad Fur Day games while we wait on announced AAA titles like Perfect Dark, O.D., and Blade. It's a nice thought, but it remains to be seen how things will play out over time. 

Do you want to see more AA games from Xbox? What franchises are you eager to see return? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

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