Activision has a robust lineup coming, with major plans to reinvent their games.
According to Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg, he discussed the future content for titles such as Destiny 2, the Call of Duty franchise, and even Skylanders, mapping out their plans for future content.
Destiny 2 in particular will have massive content developed for the title, in response to the sparse DLC released for Destiny 1. "We got a lot right with Destiny 1," states Hirshberg, "but one of the things we didn't do was keep up with the demand for new content. I feel like that, as great as [DLC packs] The Dark Below, House of Wolves, The Taken King and Rise of Iron all are, clearly there was appetite for more. "
The goal is to have in-house Activision studios to help develop content. Studios such as High Moon and Vicarious Visions have been tapped to generate content which will keep Destiny 2 more relevant.
Call of Duty is seeing a massive overhaul as well, after the negative reception of Infinite Warfare, which Hirshberg notes that the game was "clearly one future game too many." The change in focus to WWII has been seen as a positive one, which Hirshberg is hopeful will lead the publisher to a better game.
Call of Duty is also becoming a complicated series for Activision, both in terms of internal development and being out in the marketplace, with about four titles at the moment vying for the attention of the fanbase, such as the recently re-released Modern Warfare and Black Ops III, with extra content being released well over a year after launch.
"Our policy has been that as long as they're playing a Call of Duty game, we're happy," stated Hirshberg. "If people bought the new game but decided to go back to a previous one... if it's happening on a mass scale, then we want to provide new content for them. We just released the Zombies content for Black Ops III players, which is 18 months after that game launched. And it's doing really well."
This even applies to Skylanders, which is taking a break this year but is not dead, according to Hirshberg. He noted that the market for the toy-to-life genre was becoming overcrowded, with major developers taking up tons of shelf space and directly competing with each other for space. Hirshberg also cites the end of the Wii as a contributing factor, believing that none of the current consoles on the market have captured the essence of family or casual gaming this generation.
All of this is part of an initiative to follow what the fanbase wants. Hirshberg cites the recent release of Crash Bandicoot as an example of this, noting that a group of fans wanted the series resurrected. "We know there's a vocal fanbase that wanted that to come back," said Hirshberg. "But you never know if that is emblematic of a larger audience or just this niche, nostalgia-based community. So far, we are seeing some real passion for it, so that could lead to other things."
What are your thoughts on Activision's strategies for the next year? Leave your comments below.
