Crackdown E3 Tease Was Intentional, Says Microsoft

The Crackdown franchise is definitely not dead, assuming you believe the non-committal claims of Microsoft Games vice president Phil Spencer.

That video embedded at top-right contains footage of Microsoft’s Xbox One unveiling from the recent E3 conference. At the 1:52 mark, if you look at the bottom-left side of the screen on stage, you’ll notice a familiar icon. Why is it familar? Because it’s one of the power-up icons from Microsoft’s phenomenally addictive open-world Crackdown franchise.

But wait, why is that image there? Microsoft didn’t say anything about Crackdown during the presentation, so why would the company include a recognizable image that’s unmistakably taken from that series? According to Microsoft Game Studios vice president Phil Spencer, that picture was included intentionally.

“… Crackdown is one of my favorite games, and not just because it’s a Microsoft first-party game,” Spencer told IGN during E3. “I have a lot of love for that franchise. The homage to Crackdown in the [Xbox One debut] reveal screenshots was… I know there was some, like, ‘Did we accidentally sneak that …?’ It wasn’t accidental. Definitely.”

IGN then pressed Spencer on the topic, and while he didn’t confirm an upcoming Crackdown sequel, he does point out the series still has life left in it. “No, I don’t think Crackdown is dead at all,” Spencer stated. “It’s a franchise that’s still close to me. I think there’s a lot of room, especially … For me, the natural progression for a game like Crackdown – and you see this showing up on our stage – is in these living, open worlds that live in the cloud.”

So, Phil Spencer, a guy who has access to the highest levels of decision making within Microsoft’s videogame division, sees the Xbox One as a “natural progression” for the Crackdown franchise? Taken alongside that teaser image, we fell pretty safe in assuming that we’ll see a Crackdown title on Microsoft’s imminent console. We don’t know when, and we don’t know what it’ll look like, but it’s almost definitely in some stage of planning. We’ll bring you more whenever Microsoft opts to divulge official details.

Source: IGN