What you need to know
- Vicarious Visions was a studio known for its work on remastering different games.
- In January 2021, the studio was moved under Blizzard Entertainment.
- Vicarious Visions is now officially renamed Blizzard Albany and is working on the development of Diablo 4.
Vicarious Visions, the studio known for extensive remasters, has officially lost its name and become an extension of Blizzard Entertainment.
Prior reports indicated that Vicarious Visions would lose its name and become a fully integrated part of Blizzard Entertainment, something confirmed by the Vicarious Visions Twitter account on Tuesday, which announced the completion of the merger.
"We've officially merged with Blizzard Entertainment. Our development team will remain in Albany, NY and fully dedicated to Blizzard games. We invite you to follow us @Blizzard_Ent," the Twitter post reads.
Vicarious Visions was previously under the Activision Publishing side of Activision Blizzard, where the team worked on various remasters of games, including Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2, which sold over one million copies within its first two weeks of release. After being moved under Blizzard Entertainment in January 2021, Vicarious Visions went on to co-develop Diablo 2: Resurrected.
Per job listings, the now-renamed Blizzard Albany is assisting with the development of Diablo 4, hiring for numerous positions for the upcoming action role-playing game. Diablo 4 was delayed in the past few months, following several firings and former Blizzard Entertainment co-lead Jen Oneal departing the company in the wake of the Activision Blizzard lawsuit.
Activision Blizzard is currently in the process of being acquired by Microsoft for Xbox in a deal worth almost $69 billion. The deal, which is slated to close by June 2023, will add Activision Blizzard — which consists of Activision, Blizzard Entertainment and King — to the Xbox first-party lineup.
Blizzard Entertainment operates numerous offices across the world, with major teams located in Irvine, California, Austin, Texas and now Albany, New York. Other upcoming projects across the developer include Overwatch 2 and a new survival IP.
