You asked...
First, the elephant in the lobby: CALL OF DUTY.
Taking COD to two years between releases isn't just about freeing up Devs to be creative but about improving the COD ROI; as 2022 proved, the annual release caddence is leaving money on the table. By going to a two year cadence with four DLC releases the game can keep players engaged longer and increase lifetime revenue.
Think: fall release + spring & summer mid-sized DLC + big fall DLC + final spring DLC.
The reason COD has dragooned so many studios into COD support is that ACTIVISION has been fighting the MYTHICAL MAN-MONTH. Modern AAA games need four/five (and for new ip six or more) years. Doing it in three requires throwing in more bodies which complicates things which in turn requires more bodies. And crunch. Adds to the development cost and by reducing the active "shelf time" of each release reduces the revenue generation time.
By contrast, with three COD franchises under three studios, a two year cadence would give each studio six years for each release. Ample time to do all the work inhouse and maybe do a smaller project on the side.
So the matter of who revives the fallow franchises points to the same studios that created them in the first place. However...
...some franchises are old enough the original devs might not be around or needed elsewhere. And lets face it, HEXEN screams ID. And a WARCRAFT/STARCRAFT RPG could go to inXile or a team at Obsidian. Or a new studio or new teams within the existing teams.
(The turmoil in the industry means a lot of experienced devs are looking for new postings. Prime time to be staffing up to exploit the fallow ips.)
Second: it is fun to talk of reactivating fallow ips but it takes *time* to build those games. So the talk of using backwards compatibility tweaks and small/quick remakes (ACTIVISION MUSEUM!!) to get them back before gamer eyes makes ample sense. Second the motion.
Third and final: My own dream ACTIVISION revival? X-MEN.
Spider-man, smider-man, phooey. The best Marvel games to date are the two RAVEN Action RPGs Activision published: XMEN LEGENDS. By far. No need to reinvent anything. They were HD on the Original XBOX. Gameplay works as is. Easy to upscale, frame boost, and away you go. Just get the licenses back.
And right now, Disney needs money. So, Mr Spencer, please call thrm up, reactivate the license on those two and sign them up for a new trilogy, each a different genre, focusing on a different era/team of XMEN of which there are zillions.
So, to start:
A roguelike based on the recent IMMORTAL XMEN era is obvious. KING?
A third isometric action RPG is likewise required. RAVEN!
And a third, SAAS PvE game is begging to be born. RARE? BLIZZARD? ZENIMAX ONLINE?
On second thought, a twenty year deal would do nicely.
Oh, and along similar lines, call up WBD. Get a similar license for the LSH!
(LLL)
Whatever they do won't bear fruit until the next generation but when it does...
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