As Microsoft works to close on the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the company held an all-hands meeting to cover a number of topics, according to journalist Jez Corden.
During this meeting, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick fielded questions in a town hall format. He talked about the past of Activision, how far the company has come over the years, future gaming technology, and even hinted at the return of Guitar Hero.
Regarding future gaming technology, Kotick says that the company will soon be able to do things that it’s never been able to do.
“If you look at the new technologies that are on the horizon, we’re going to be able to do things that we’ve never done before with AI and machine learning,” he said via Corden. “The quality of graphics are now elevated to a place where we’re going to need more writing talent and more acting talent — because we won’t be able to actually fulfill the expectations of our players.
“Games are always very different than film and television. In film and television, you are successful by creating a connection that’s emotional between you and the audience — our experiences are more visceral, but it’s changing. We have characters on the screen and video games who with mouth movements and facial animation that is realistic — you’re going to have a new dimension of emotional connection that we’ve not yet mastered.”
Speaking of games, Kotick says that having Microsoft supporting the company can help with future research for games and development. That’s when Guitar Hero was specifically mentioned as being possible.
“A big part of what I’ve seen in Microsoft is research,” he 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.”Â
He continued: “The re-emergence of Guitar Hero and other things would not be possible without the different types of resources. And so, you know, just the endless possibilities for the future that are just incredibly exciting.”
He also mentioned the idea of using Neuralink or an earpiece or something similar to interact with games on a screen without a controller in the future.
The $72 Billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft recently cleared a major hurdle in the UK. If all goes well, Microsoft is hoping to close the deal as early as the end of this week.
What do you think about the future of Activision Blizzard and its games? For more Insider Gaming, check out details on the new PS5 Slim that was announced by Sony.
