Vicarious Visions, the studio behind the recently acclaimed remasters of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and Crash Bandicoot games, has been merged into Blizzard Entertainment. Parent company Activision Blizzard revealed the news to GamesIndustry.biz today, noting that the studio’s 200 or so employees will be working for the same outfit responsible for iconic franchises such as WarCraft and Diablo going forward.
“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.
“As part of the move, Vicarious Visions studio head Jen Oneal has been promoted to Blizzard executive vice president of development, where she joins the company’s leadership team and will report directly to Blizzard president J. Allen Brack,” GamesIndustry.biz added.
“Oneal is being replaced in the Vicarious Visions studio head role by Simon Ebejer, who previously served as chief operating officer for the studio.”
It isn’t clear what game Vicarious Visions might be assisting with at Blizzard, but the “promotion” would suggest that the developer is well equipped for whatever challenge the legendary studio has in store for it. Vicarious Visions’ resume includes Spider-Man 3, various Guitar Hero and Skylander games, Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy, Destiny 2, as well as the recently released Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2.