Activision Blizzard’s Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 developer, Vicarious Visions, has been merged into Blizzard Entertainment. Blizzard is the developer of major franchises like Overwatch and World of Warcraft. GamesIndustry.biz reports the studio of around 200 employees will now work as Blizzard employees and will be “fully dedicated to existing Blizzard games and initiatives.” Vicarious Visions studio head Jen Oneal will now serve as Blizzard’s executive vice president of development. Activision Blizzard’s decision to merge the companies means the acclaimed studio will no longer create games as the lead developer.
“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,” a representative said.
No comment was provided on how long the Vicarious Visions team has been working under the Blizzard umbrella or what it is working on. However, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier has stated that the developer “has actually been working on Blizzard projects for a few months now.”
Vicarious Visions was established in the 1990s and has developed a vast multiple of games. The developer was acquired by Activision almost exactly 16 years ago and worked on Guitar Hero, Skylanders, and Destiny before finally settling in as the lead studio on Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2.
