Activision turns Tony Hawk 1+2 developer into a full-time Blizzard support studio
Vicarious Visions, founded in 1990, is now "fully dedicated" to working on Blizzard games.
In a statement to GamesIndustry.biz on Friday, Activision announced that it's moving game studio Vicarious Visions under the umbrella of Blizzard Entertainment, where its staff of some 200 developers will now be "fully dedicated to existing Blizzard games and initiatives." Vicarious Visions' latest project was Tony Hawk 1+2, which we called "everything you'd want from a remake of a 20 year old game."
Vicarious Visions has been an Activision studio since 2005, and has history with the Tony Hawk series going back even further than that. Starting in 2002, Vicarious Visions developed the (surprisingly good) Game Boy Advance versions of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. Over the last decade Vicarious Visions has made dozens of games on handheld platforms and worked on other successful remakes, like the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy.
Tony Hawk 1+2 seemed like a breakout success for the studio, and an ideal foundation for remakes of the beloved Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and 4. But it seems unlikely that Vicarious Visions will be the developer behind those remakes, should they happen.
"After collaborating with Vicarious Visions for some time and developing a great relationship, Blizzard realized there was an opportunity for [Vicarious Visions] to provide long-term support," Activision told GamesIndustry.biz. It seems like the studio will now be focused on contributing to existing and upcoming Blizzard games like Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4.