Soapbox: Alright, It's Time For Xbox To Make A Smash Bros. Game

With Microsoft announcing the acquisition of Activision Blizzard earlier this week, the topic of Xbox Game Studios potentially commissioning a Super Smash Bros. style multiplayer game has cropped up once again. There are a few reasons why you might not want to pursue it, but in our opinion, it's an absolute no-brainer... if done right.

The most obvious reason is because Microsoft owns a ridiculously incredible range of classic characters now, and the roster would be absolutely insane. From Master Chief to the DOOM Slayer to Crash Bandicoot to Banjo-Kazooie — the potential here is near-endless, so it's already off to an amazing start on the drawing board.

That means the stages would be incredible, too. Can you imagine battling it out on Zeta Halo, in the skies of Microsoft Flight Simulator, amongst the blocky worlds of Minecraft and in front of the colourful backdrop of Ori and the Will of the Wisps? Again, this sort of thing pretty much writes itself, so the potential is there for everyone to see.

So, why wouldn't you want to do it? Well, you could look at Sony's PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale from 2012 which didn't prove as successful as Smash Bros. whatsoever, and the recent Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl hasn't achieved that level of success either. But thanks to Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft has good reason to take a chance on this.

And of course, there's the fact that Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has said on numerous occasions that he'd like to see more family friendly content as part of the Xbox Game Studios portfolio. With Activision Blizzard bringing the likes of Crash and Spyro to Xbox, it would make total sense and align with Phil's "family friendly" vision for them to be integrated into a fun, accessible multiplayer game for players of all ages and skill levels.

Microsoft has had numerous chances to go down this path over the past 20 years, but now is undoubtedly the best possible time to do it. Make no mistake though — in order to do it well, it's going to take a lot of hard work from some of the most talented teams under the Xbox Game Studios banner (along with a fair chunk of change). The blueprints are in place for something special here, and we're confident Team Xbox can live up to the task.

Would you want to see a Smash Bros. style game created by Xbox? Let us know in the comments below.

Do You Want An Xbox Smash Bros. Game?