"So this is home now?": World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Starfield, and more collide in the utterly bizarre trailer Xbox made for its Activision deal
Oct. 13, 2023Xbox is very proud of all the IP it’s acquired through buyouts
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The fact that Xbox evenmadea trailercelebrating theclosure of its Activision Blizzard acquisition, like it’s the last big hitter of an E3 showcase, is bizarre enough, if unsurprising. But the sheer, goggle-eyed, ‘Let’s hear it for capitalism’ chest-beating of the thing is, well, I wish I could say otherworldly, but absolutely strange to say the least.
Just to drive home the Alice in Capitalism vibes, the two-minute trailer – 114 honest-to-god seconds – is set to verses from ‘Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’ from the 1943 musical Oklahoma. “There’s a bright golden haze on the meadow,” the trailer begins, but instead of Curly McLain eyeing Laurey Williams across a field, it’s Xbox welcoming distraught, hapless, down-on-their-luck, capital-G Gamers into the ostensibly glorious tomorrow whereMicrosoftowns the entire world.
I’ll give Microsoft one thing: The absurd juxtaposition of IP here does illustrate the enormity of this deal, though its impact can’t hope to match the psychic damage dealt by the World of Warcraft clips in this trailer. First of all, yes, World of Warcraft is in an Xbox sizzle reel. Welcome to the golden meadow. Second of all, I don’t think this is the context Blizzard’s writers had in mind when they had that orc lad ask, “So this is home now?”
“Home. Family,” replies Orc Number 2 – yes, I know it’s Varok and Thrall, I just like to mess with World of Warcraft players – presumably seconds away from donning his newly provided Xbox blazer.
It’s not justActivisiongames, either. Xbox is very proud of all the IP it’s acquired through buyouts, so Activision games, from distant relatives like Sekiro to mainstays like Call of Duty, are rubbing elbows with Bethesda properties like Fallout andStarfield. To put things into perspective, here’s a list of the games shown in this trailer – which doesn’t even cover all the IP Xbox just bought – that are all under the Xbox umbrella:
“The breeze is so busy it don’t miss a tree,” indeed. Is Xbox teasing new installments in any of these long-running and often long-dormant franchises? Not right now it isn’t, but it clearly wants folks to remember they exist and who owns them.
Phil Spencer extends olive branch to PS5 playersas XboxActivision Blizzarddeal closes: “You are welcome here - and will remain welcome.”
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