Microsoft has accumulated a formidable catalog of IP over the last few years, having added to its own stable with a treasure trove of properties through the acquisitions of not only several independent studios, but also entire major publishers in the form of Bethesda and Activision Blizzard. And of course, given the sheer number of properties that Microsoft now has under its umbrella, there’s only so many of them that can be (and are) active at any given time.
Of the many, many Microsoft-owned gaming franchises that are dormant, however, there’s no shortage of those that fans have been hoping to see coming back in some way, shape, or form- and now that they’re owned by Xbox, those hopes seem stronger (or at least) louder than they ever have. Here, we’re going to add our voices to that pile and talk about ten dormant IP that Microsoft owns that we’re hoping will make a comeback in the not-too-distant future.
HEXEN
It’s been nearly three decades since the last Hexen game, but demand for the dark fantasy first-person shooter series to return remains surprisingly high. Not only does Microsoft own the IP through id Software, it also owns Raven Software, the studio that made Heretic, Hexen, and Hexen 2. Xbox boss Phil Spencer himself has publicly broached the possibility of bringing Hexen back a couple of times (even though he says there’s nothing to announce on that front yet), so maybe there’s some hope that we actually will get to see a new game in the long dormant franchise at some point.
BANJO
A Banjo-Kazooie revival is something that fans of the franchise have been hoping for for decades, at this point. We have to go all the way back to 2008 for the last new Banjo game, which, to make matters worse, was the massively disappointing Nuts and Bolts. For an IP with the kind of legacy and fanbase that Banjo boasts, it’s been shockingly mishandled. Again, Phil Spencer has acknowledged the demand for new Banjo game, so at least we know that the property isn’t being totally ignored by Microsoft, but how long it’ll be before that actually materializes as a new game remains to be seen. Leaks have claimed that a reboot is indeed in the works, but so far there isn’t much concrete information to latch on to. Hopefully those rumours are more than just rumblings.
STARCRAFT
StarCraft was and continues to be one of Blizzard Entertainment’s biggest and most successful franchises, but you wouldn’t know that looking at how the company has handled it over the last decade and a half. In spite of the critical and commercial success that the series has enjoyed, it’s been fourteen years since its last mainline release, and though StarCraft 2 did receive post-launch content for several years afterward, cries for a new entry have, surprisingly enough, gone unheard. With Blizzard dedicating the overwhelming majority of its focus to Diablo, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch, it’s hard to say just how much longer it’ll be before StarCraft makes a comeback. We hope it’s seen though, because a franchise this huge and this beloved should be way, way more active.
PROTOTYPE
Radical Entertainment’s Prototype games were the definition of video game junk food. By no means were the open world superhero/villain sims masterpieces in any regard, but in spite of their very obvious rough edges, they were undeniably an absolute blast. But with the property being deemed a commercial failure, Prototype died with its sophomore outing, while Radical Entertainment itself was gutted with mass layoffs, eventually turning into a skeleton studio with minimal staff. Microsoft down own both Radical and the Prototype IP, but whether or not either will ever see the light of day again is anyone’s best guess. Would we love to see a modern-day AAA Prototype game though? We absolutely would.
THE EVIL WITHIN
The Evil Within has not, of course, been dormant nearly as long as most other franchises mentioned in this feature have been, with The Evil Within 2 having come out seven years ago. As time passes though, it’s looking increasingly unlikely that we’ll get a third game anytime soon. The Evil Within 2 was legitimately an underrated survival horror classic, and its undeserved commercial failings ended up ensuring that Tango Gameworks wouldn’t be able to build on its foundations. At a time where survival horror is more popular than ever, The Evil Within’s absence is particularly striking. Tango has since then found plenty of success and recognition with Hi-Fi Rush, and we do hope to see the studio continuing to do more stuff along those lines- but hopefully, The Evil Within 3 is also something the developer will look into at some point.
BLUR
Blur isn’t a franchise, of course, because it never really got the chance to be one. Bizarre Creations’ excellent vehicular combat racer launched back in 2010, and though it received plenty of acclaim, disappointing sales led not only to the cancellation of a sequel, but also the shuttering of the studio. Given the fact that arcade racers have turned into even more of a rarity now than they were back when Blur first came out, it’s highly unlikely that it’s a property that Microsoft will give much consideration to bringing back, especially when the company has Forza Horizon in its stable. Blur was, however, a very different flavour of arcade racing, and even though it’s a foolishly optimistic pipe dream, we sure would love if it made an unlikely comeback.
QUAKE
One of the more obvious picks in this feature. Few franchises have the kind of genre-defining legacy that id Software’s Quake does, but though other classic id properties have managed to claw their way back into the limelight, Quake has had no such luck. Yes, we did get Quake Champions in 2017, but let’s face it, that wasn’t the new Quake game that anyone was hoping for. And yes, we have received remasters of the first two Quake games over the last couple of years- which, admittedly, were both great. But are we going to get a new Quake game anytime soon? The recent aforementioned remastered releases would suggest that maybe that’s something that Bethesda and Microsoft are at least considering. Some reports have suggested that MachineGames – which developed new content for the remasters – is working on brining the franchise back similar to what it did for Wolfenstein. There’s nothing concrete on that front yet, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed.
CRIMSON SKIES
Based on a tabletop franchise, Crimson Skies might not be a game that many are familiar with at this point, given how long it’s been since it came out, but those who have played it continue to look back on it fondly. Taking flight simulation mechanics and blending them with arcade elements, Crimson Skies was something of a cult classic. Neither the 2000 PC title nor its 2003 follow up for the original Xbox sold very well, but both entries have their fair share of fans, many of whom would absolutely love to see a new instalment in the franchise. After the success that Microsoft Flight Simulator has enjoyed, hopefully Microsoft will consider also working on a more arcade-y take on the genre.
PREY
Similar to The Evil Within, Prey hasn’t been dormant for that long, but it definitely is a franchise that weirdly seems to struggle with getting to a direct sequel. Arkane’s 2017 game was itself a reboot of a property that had only had one previous game (not to mention a cancelled sequel)- and it was an excellent reboot! Sadly, however, Prey 2 was once again not meant to be, because of in spite of how good 2017’s Prey was, it clearly sold nowhere near enough to warrant a sequel. Since then, Arkane Austin – the team that developed the game – has gone on to release Redfall, which, of course, was a massive disappointing. With Arkane’s Lyon team working on Marvel’s Blade, will the Austin studio go back to Prey? We certainly hope so- though we have a feeling that if the studio was going to go back to one of its properties, it’d probably deem Dishonored the more suitable choice, given it’s popularity… which we wouldn’t be against, to be fair.
MECHASSAULT
The BattleTech franchise as a whole hasn’t exactly been dormant in games, thanks to the MechWarrior games, but the MechAssault line definitely has been MIA longer than it should have been. Both of the MechAssault games rank as some of the original Xbox’s best action titles even today, and maybe it’s because of the recent success of Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, but we’re more than a little curious to see what an Xbox-backed modern AAA MechAssault game would look like. Interestingly enough, MechWarrior is another one of Microsoft’s dormant properties that Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said he would personally love to see come back. Here’s hoping that will lead to something.