Blizzard Entertainment is the developer of major franchises such as Overwatch and World of Warcraft. Some time ago, Blizzard acquired Vicarious Visions, the studio will cease to exist as they merge with the company. Vicarious Vision is a game development studio that has been part of Activision since January 2005 and is dedicated to existing Blizzard games and initiatives that are working on titles such as the recently released Tony Hawk: Pro Skater 1 and 2 under the Activision banner.
Activision celebrated the release of Tony Hawk: Pro Skater 1 and 2 earlier this year by announcing that its developer Vicarious Visions would reposition itself to support Blizzard Games. A company source told Polygon that a release of the company’s name will be announced at City Hall yesterday, and the new name confirms what many had suspected: Vicarious Vision will be renamed Blizzard Albany, following Blizzard’s other satellite offices.
Activision and Blizzard on Wednesday informed Vicarious Visions employees that the studio will lose its name as part of the ongoing merger with Blizzard Entertainment, Polygon told sources. Vicarious Vision, the 30-year-old Activision studio behind Tony Hawks, Guitar Hero, and Spyro games reportedly loses its name as a result of the merger with the video game company.
After the meeting, both Activision and Blizzard said no layoffs were planned at Vicarious. That’s according to a source who spoke to Polygon and briefed construction management, who briefed the team at a town hall meeting on Wednesday. Developers and staff were told as early as Wednesday that the name would be dropped. Management made the announcement during the studios’ Halloween costume day, which saw many staff in creepy outfits appear as the news made the rounds. The staff noted that this was not an unexpected move, but felt blinded by the positioning in the light of a quick meeting.
Not to mention Activision and Vicarious Visions have a great track record in remastering classic titles and are responsible for popular titles such as Guitar Hero, Spider-Man, Skylanders, Destiny, and Call of Duty. If their latest developments and rumors prove to be true, Diablo II could also be a remaster. The report also adds that Team 3 is responsible for recording and re-editing Diablo II.
According to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, Blizzard and Team 1 are working on a Diablo 2 remake. In the months since the latest release, fans have been excited to see what the team is working on next. The most popular theory is that they will take the helm of the Pro Skater 3 and 4 remakes and release DLC for the Arcade Skater Revival.
Management of the sales at the studio successfully negotiated with Activision, bringing the original investors 20 times their original investment. Vicarious Visions will be working with publishers Overwatch and World of Warcraft at the time of the official merger, which means the focus will shift to long-term support for their games.
