Bobby Kotick Reportedly Interviewed By James Corden During Employee Meeting About Guitar Hero And More
Nearly two years ago, Microsoft announced it was acquiring Call of Duty and Diablo maker Activision Blizzard for a colossal $69 billion. With reports indicating that the deal is set to close tomorrow, on October 13, the saga is almost over. Ahead of that deal’s finalization, we learned Activision Blizzard will not be putting the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III or the recently released Diablo IV on Xbox Game Pass this year. Now, thanks to a new report from WindowsCentral, we’ve learned Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick held an all-hands employee meeting yesterday where former late-night show host James Corden interviewed him about future technology, the acquisition, and Guitar Hero.
The first Guitar Hero hit PlayStation 2 in 2005 and several sequels, spin-offs, and more were released between then and 2015, which is when Guitar Hero Live, the last in the series, launched. While talking about Elon Musk’s Neuralink, VR, and how Microsoft Research could aid in the pursuit of a future where players can interact with things on screen without using a controller, Kotick hinted at Guitar Hero, according to WindowsCentral.
“A big part of what I’ve seen in Microsoft is research,” Kotick reportedly said. “And they do development in areas that are extraordinary. And so being able to tap into their AI and machine learning capability, the data analytics, new ways of thinking about graphics – I just see unlimited potential for what we do. We’re uniquely situated as a company because we have the very best franchises in all of video games.”
WindowsCentral reports that Kotick then spoke about the next 10 years of gaming for Activision Blizzard while reminiscing on the company’s past to talk about Pitfall, River Raids, and Guitar Hero.
“The re-emergence of Guitar Hero and other things would not be possible without the different types of resources,” he said. “And so, you know, just the endless possibilities for the future that are just incredibly exciting.”
It’s not quite confirmation that Activision Blizzard is reviving Guitar Hero, but it certainly sounds like the company is at least interested. As for what “different types of resources” Kotick is referring to in regards to a Guitar Hero re-emergence, only time will tell. Perhaps he means Microsoft’s resources Activision Blizzard will soon, presumably, be able to tap into when the acquisition deal is closed.
In the meantime, be sure to read WindowsCentral’s full report for more information about Kotick’s thoughts on AI, Activision Blizzard’s history, and more.
After that, check out all of Game Informer’s Guitar Hero reviews and then catch up on the biggest Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III news from last week’s COD Next live stream.
[Source: WindowsCentral]
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