Tony Hawk’s 1 + 2 dev Vicarious Visions has been folded into Blizzard

Activision Blizzard has merged its Vicarious Visions studio into Blizzard Entertainment.

As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 and Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy developer will no longer be creating games as the lead developer.

Going forward, the Vicarious Visions team of around 200 people will be employees of Blizzard and “fully dedicated to existing Blizzard games and initiatives,” Activision Blizzard said.

“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 told GI.

As part of the move, Vicarious Visions studio head Jen Oneal has been promoted to Blizzard executive vice president of development.

Vicarious Visions was acquired by Activision in 2005 and has worked on many of the publisher’s biggest franchises, including Skylanders, Guitar Hero, Destiny and Call of Duty.

Its most recent game, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, received favourable reviews from critics and debuted as the fastest-selling game in the franchise, selling one million copies within its first two weeks.

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Triology was an even bigger success with ten million copies sold in its first two years.

VGC’s Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 review says of the game: “Vicarious Visions has delivered a superb remake of two iconic games without letting modern gaming’s vices get in the way.”