The Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series originally began in 1999, but it had not seen a new entry since 2015's poorly reviewed Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5. The 2020 remake of the first two Tony Hawk games, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2, gave a new generation the chance to experience these cult classics, while providing longtime fans of the series a nice nostalgia trip with a ton of improved features. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 became the fastest-selling game in the Tony Hawk's series and was seen as a return to grace for the beloved franchise. Despite the game's success, it seems there won't be any more Pro Skater remakes, including a potential Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4.
The developer of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2, Vicarious Visions, was reassigned within Activision Blizzard, and it will now be focusing entirely on existing Blizzard games. In addition to the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater remaster, Vicarious Visions has also worked on games such as the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy and the Skylanders series. The studio will now exclusively be working on Blizzard IPs, and it was recently reported that Vicarious Visions has been helping develop a Diablo 2 remake for the past year.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 showed much promise for the future of the series, but it looks as though that promise will now go unrealized. Vicarious Visions created something truly special with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater remake, returning one of the greatest skateboarding franchises to its former glory after years of hibernation - and it looked as though it would be here to stay once again. But Blizzard had other plans for the studio, and they don't seem to include a continuation of the Pro Skater series.
A Different Activision Studio Could Make More THPS Games
The future of the Pro Skater series may not look fruitful, but it isn't entirely hopeless. Vicarious Visions developed the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, but the eventual continuation of the series, Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, was handled by Toys for Bob, another studio owned by Activision. Perhaps Activision Blizzard could take a similar approach for a future Pro Skater game, tagging in one of its many other studios to take over development. Nonetheless, Vicarious Visions taking no part in Tony Hawk Pro Skater could mean another long wait for a new entry in the series.
While a Diablo 2 remake sounds exciting, especially one handled by a studio that successfully remade Pro Skater and Crash Bandicoot games, this feels like a missed opportunity on Activision Blizzard's part. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2's sales proved how much people still care about the series and how much potential it has, moving forward. There aren't any other major skateboarding video games currently available, so a follow-up to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 would've cornered the market on the genre. Future remakes could appeal not only to longtime fans but to newer gamers who haven't had a chance to play the original classics.