When Microsoft made the decision to purchase Activision Blizzard, the gaming world erupted in discourse over whether it was a good move for the industry. One of the ideas put forward by the deal's supporters was that Microsoft would revive many of the dormant series the publisher had sitting in its back catalog.
Indeed, there was a time when Activision was more than the Call of Duty monolith we know them as today. Prior to the eighth generation of consoles, and their merger with Blizzard, they experimented with the types of games they would put out, covering a wide swath of genres. These are just some of the series we want to see brought back.
8 Guitar Hero
Living The Rock Star Fantasy
During the mid 2000s, rhythm games and their plastic peripherals dominated the marketplace, bringing in strong profits. Unfortunately, oversaturation became an issue when Guitar Hero and Rock Band were releasing new versions every year, and the genre faded from the cultural limelight.
Despite this, there's still a demand for these types of music games. PC success stories like Clone Hero prove that an audience will show up for rhythm titles; they just need to be supported properly. Given the years that have passed since the last entry was released (Guitar Hero Live in 2015), it's time to give the series another shot.
7 Pitfall
Jump!
Many of gaming's most storied series didn't emerge until Nintendo restarted the entire industry with the Nintendo Entertainment System. However, there are titles from the Atari years that still resonate with the public, one of them being Pitfall.
Pitfall has had a few attempted revivals, all with mixed levels of success. These reboots were released at a time when platformers were a more dominant genre, leading them to be lost in a fiercely competitive landscape. Now, the market is starved for similar experiences. A big-budget adventure platformer would turn a lot of heads, and potentially help propel this legacy series back into relevance.
6 Blur
Revisit A Cult Classic
Blur was the answer to a question no one thought to ask: what if you took the arcade racing of Need for Speed and combined it with the power-ups of Mario Kart? Despite how wild the concept sounds on paper, Blur managed to mix these disparate influences into a satisfying experience. It didn't light up the sales charts, but still cultivated a loyal fan base that talks about it to this day.
Contemporary racing games tend to veer heavily into the simulation subgenre, with Forza and Gran Turismo being the most high-profile contenders. An arcade racer with combat and fluid gameplay would be a breath of fresh air in the current climate, capitalizing on an underserved audience.
5 Gun
Giddy Up
The modern games industry doesn't like to take many chances. As a result, we see a lot of games set in similar locations or time periods with very little variation. Surprisingly, the Wild West is a relatively untapped setting for video games, and a return to the cult classic Gun could help fill that void.
Of course, we need to acknowledge the elephant in the room: Red Dead Redemption. Yes, that series' critical acclaim would likely surpass any recognition a new Gun would receive, but we should consider the speed of Rockstar productions. Gamers will be waiting a long time for Red Dead 3 (if Rockstar even decides to pursue it), so a new studio delivering a solid cowboy game would be much appreciated.
4 Spyro
Enter The Dragon
The gaming industry used to be dominated by colorful mascots, almost intrinsically linked to the console they appeared on. Spyro served as one such figurehead for the original PlayStation, but unlike Crash, the purple dragon hasn't seen a new series entry since Dawn of the Dragon in 2008.
The original trilogy was remade for modern systems in 2018, and garnered a lot of attention for the series. Releasing a true sequel to the Insomniac games, a la Crash 4, could introduce the series to a new generation, creating lifelong fans.
3 Singularity
Shooting With A Sci-Fi Twist
Before Raven Software got assigned to work on Call of Duty, it used to make a variety of other first-person shooters. One of them was Singularity, a game that combined tight gunplay with a healthy dose of science fiction gadgetry.
Activision is flush with talented shooter developers, employing a legion of studios just to support COD's yearly release schedule. If they pulled even one team off to work on a game like Singularity, it could help diversify their publishing portfolio and bring in fans that aren't interested in grounded military experiences.
2 Tony Hawk
Skate Or Die
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater took the world by storm when it was originally released, leading Activision to pump out new skating games for the next eight years. By the time the series reached the Xbox 360 and PS3, it began to run out of steam, with declining sales and critical reception.
Still, people hunger for new arcade sports titles; they just become fatigued when served a new game every twelve months. The response to Pro Skater 1+2's remake and a new Skate proves the public is ready for a skating renaissance, and a new Tony Hawk title could lead the charge.
1 Prototype
Become The Ultimate Weapon
Of all the Activision series people want revived, the cries seem to be the loudest for Prototype. Players inhabit the role of a super-powered bioweapon, capable of inflicting massive damage on property and the populace. Through upgrades, you can amass godlike power, choosing to either save the world or destroy it.
Prototype only received two entries, but is still discussed to this day. Given the massive leap in power from the seventh generation consoles to the ninth, a new Prototype could push technical boundaries and deliver the best destructible open-world we've ever seen.
