Reportedly, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater remake developer Vicarious Visions is helming production on a remake for Blizzard Entertainment's classic Diablo II. Such news comes on the heels of Blizzard's absorption of Vicarious, which spent the last 15 years and change serving as an Activision subsidiary.
Vicarious' new role as a Blizzard support team allows it to remain stationed in Albany, New York. The studio underwent a fair bit of change with regards to its leadership, though. Studio head Jen Oneal notably received a promotion, taking a seat on Blizzard's own leadership team as executive vice president of development. In her absence, Vicarious' chief operating officer, Simon Ebejer, has assumed the role of studio head. A statement from Blizzard noted the two entities have already been collaborating "for some time," yet the specifics weren't yet laid out publicly.
According to a report from Bloomberg, Blizzard's Team 1, the crew behind the universally panned Warcraft III: Reforged, led development on Diablo II's remake until last year. Blizzard dissolved Team 1, reassigning some of its members to other parts of the company and others were reportedly let go over time. As a result, responsibilities for Diablo II's revival (also referred to as Diablo II: Resurrected) were handed to Team 3, the crew currently attached to Diablo IV. Sources familiar with Blizzard's operations told Bloomberg that a group within Vicarious has been helping with Diablo II since last year.
Whether or not such a project is the best use of Vicarious Vision's talents and resources remains to be seen. Many fans expressed disappointment once news that the team had been merged into Blizzard went live. Most are concerned about Vicarious possibly suffering the fate of Activision's Raven Software, which, prior to last year's Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, hadn't developed a project of its own since 2010's oft-forgotten Singularity.
The publisher acquired Vicarious in 2005, and it's been busy in the 15 years since. The New York-based studio has overseen development on many a noteworthy Activision franchise, including the likes of Skylanders. Recent successes pushed Vicarious into the stratosphere, thanks in large part to its highly acclaimed work on the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. Last year, the developers revived yet another beloved 90s franchise with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2, which went on to become the fastest-selling entry in series history. With luck, Diablo 2's own remake treatment will be just as good.
Source: Bloomberg