Microsoft Canceled Trademark for Original Xbox Platformer Blinx

Back when Microsoft had first gotten into the home console business with the original Xbox, it tried its hand with a mascot platformer called Blinx: The Time Sweeper. Reception was mild, but the game did well enough to at least get a sequel, called Blinx 2: Masters of Time & Space. If for some reason you were hoping that the long-dormant franchise would return, you'll be disappointed to know that the trademark has been canceled as of December 26, 2014, which effectively means that Microsoft has given up on the series.

Whether or not you enjoyed Blinx, it's sad that Microsoft won't even bother to hold onto the trademark to one of its first original properties.This is especially troublesome because it's yet another sign that Microsoft has no interest in platform games. Was 2008's Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts seriously the last Microsoft-published platformer?

Who knows, though. Microsoft is trying to resurrect Avatars and Kinect, so perhaps it will one day change its tune and try the genre once more.