Phil Spencer says he’d love to revisit MechAssault

Earlier today, the UK’s CMA approved the Microsoft Activision Blizzard merger. Having previously rejected the company’s bid to purchase the creator of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch in April 2023, Microsoft has since altered the terms of its proposed acquisition to fit the CMA’s requirements. The Microsoft Activision Blizzard merger is now closed and completed, as Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer says that “as one team, we’ll learn, innovate, and continue to deliver on our promise to bring the joy and community of gaming to more people.”

As the dust from the monstrous Microsoft leak begins to settle, the various players and publishers in the industry are making their positions known on the subject of acquisitions. It might seem like hubris, but Xbox chief Phil Spencer was privately musing about acquiring Warner Bros Interactive, Nintendo, or even Valve, which does put things into perspective.

Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass has proven to be quite a hit for Xbox players. This subscription service was introduced to allow players access to a wide range of video games at their disposal. For the past several years, we’ve seen the service evolve with cloud gaming first-party exclusives launching day one on the service, among several deals that brought in third-party video game titles to the service. However, don’t anticipate Microsoft to make a game that would only be accessible through Xbox Game Pass.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has inadvertently shared his opinion on the issues modern AAA games are dealing with - revealing he thinks publishers are "milking" their successful IPs and "struggling" to find new ones. 

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer is visiting Kojima Productions today, as testified by the pictures shared by Kojima himself on Twitter. Xbox executives Sarah Bond (Corporate VP) and Aaron Greenberg (VP of Marketing) are also in attendance, and they brought Kojima a nifty Starfield-themed backpack. They later went with many Kojima Productions members to visit the Kanda Myojin sanctuary in Akihabara, Tokyo.

Phil Spencer has stated that Xbox players can see more AAA releases by Japanese studios come to the platform in the future. Speaking to Game Watch, Spencer said that Xbox will get more games described by the interviewer as “uniquely Japanese AAA titles” down the line.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has revealed the one game we would love to see revived: MechAssault.

Microsoft’s big bosses were recently asked about the big games that they would want to see return. Interestingly, Sarah Bond and Phil Spencer had completely different answers.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer would love to revisit the Mechassault/Mechwarrior IP but pointed out that, at this point, these are merely personal wishes.

Given how many first party studios now fall under the Xbox Game Studios banner, it’s no surprise that Microsoft technically has the power to oversee revivals of as many dormant franchises as it can- a list that’s bound to grow further still once the company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard is finalized. However, one name in particular that Xbox boss Phil Spencer has personally had his eyes on that may take some by surprise is MechAssault.

Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that it was raising the subscription prices for Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate in all markets except the US, Japan, Chile, Brazil, and Columbia, and as many may have expected, it looks like it won’t be the only price hike we’ll see for Microsoft’s subscription service.

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer attended Tokyo Game Show 2023 in person to meet with fans and press alike. Japanese website Game Watch published a new interview with the executive just a few hours ago, and the conversation provides several tidbits worth reporting.