We learned earlier this week that the studio Vicarious Visions, to whom we owe something in particular Tony Hawks Pro Skater 1 + 2, was recorded by Blizzard Entertainment. Developers will now focus on the developers’ license portfolio World of Warcraft. And according to Bloomberg, the teams have been working on the Diablo franchise for several months, and in particular an updated version of the second episode of the series.
Jason Schreier, a journalist who specializes in video games for the American media, provides a lot of information. According to him, this remake was initially entrusted to Team 1 within Blizzard. The latter in particular is the origin of Warcraft 3: Reforged and from Heroes of the Storm. Two successful titles – critical for the first, commercial for the second – very mixed. The American publisher / developer would have decided to withdraw the project from Team 1 and entrust it to those responsible for the development of Diablo IV
Blizzard said today that it is absorbing vicarious visions. What it didn’t say:
– VV was working on a Diablo II remake
– Team 1, Blizzard’s “classic team”, was tacitly dismantled last fallNew from me, including some insights into WC3 Reforged: https://t.co/VGczypoBPi
– Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) January 22, 2021
In addition, Jason Schreier reports that Team 1 was dismantled discreetly. Some developers have joined other teams at Blizzard; others have simply left the company. As a reminder, the second installment in the hit Hack & Slash series was released exclusively on PC in June 2000. Diablo III, the newest work to date, is celebrating its ninth anniversary this year.
