It was all the way back in January 2021 that Activision Blizzard confirmed Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 studio Vicarious Visions was being permanently merged into Blizzard Entertainment.
This meant that instead of working on the likes of the Crash, Spyro and Tony Hawk franchises, Vicarious Visions would now be "fully dedicated to existing Blizzard games and initiatives". This announcement was prior to Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, of course, and when the acquisition was announced back in January, multiple Xbox fans took to social media to plead with Microsoft to reverse the decision:
Today, however, Vicarious Visions confirmed that the merger has officially gone through, meaning that "our development team will remain in Albany, NY and fully dedicated to Blizzard games."
There's a belief that Vicarious Visions will actually lose its name as part of the merger (according to a Polygon report from last year), and former Studio Head Jen O'Neal also left the company a few months ago, so it's quite a switch-up.
And of course, today's confirmation has brought out more Xbox fans who are saddened by the news:
https://twitter.com/3DK1NG2022/status/1513877070971121667?
Unfortunately for those who are disheartened by the decision, it seems very, very unlikely that Microsoft will simply undo the decision to make Vicarious Visions a Blizzard studio. However, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has indicated he'd like Activision Blizzard to work on some classic franchises, so hopefully Crash, Spyro and Tony Hawk are part of that.
As you can see from the tweets above, Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time and Spyro Reignited Trilogy developer Toys for Bob also went through a similar situation recently, after being shifted to work on the Call of Duty franchise back in April of last year. It's unknown what the future holds for that studio, but hopefully the CoD switch isn't a permanent one.
What's your reaction to the news? Let us know down in the comments section below.
Comments 9
The most refreshing of all of ABKs studios and who have regularly got good games out on time and they do this to them.
HUGELY disappointing.
If it helps, Microsoft COULD start a Bluepoint-style studio and move whatever members from Vicarious that they want to. Theoretically.
Seems kind of meaningless now that MS is acquiring them. I don't see how it would preclude new entries in older franchises even now.
As they are all under the same 'house', they could still operate as a subsidiary of Blizzard making the games they want under the Blizzard name - like Arcane has 2 studio's - especially if MS's deal goes through. Instead of being a 'support' studio, they could be a '2nd' studio in its own right.
VV is really good at making remake (just like sony bluepoint), I hope microsoft undo this move after they fully bought activision and make VV remake microsoft old catalogue.
As far as I am concerned the important part is about new games be it in original new IP or existing IP.
MS already owns a ton of IPs they have not announced new games (Conker, Dishonored, Battletoads, etc.). Activision-Blizzard also has a ton of IP that do not have new games announced (Pitfall, Guitar Hero, Chopper Command, River Raid, Spyro, Crash, etc.).
MS could probably start another 10 new studios to build IPs they own both before and after Activision-Blizzard. The problem is getting talent and putting them to work on them. Games continue to get more complex and bigger to make, that is probably why they merged the teams to begin with. At the same time, publishers/developers are maxx'd on capability to do more because of a difficulty finding talented devts and game designers. I am sure they do analysis like, "If we do a game in this IP we can expect X sales and Y other things". These companies are essentially just allocating resources based on where they see the biggest bang for bucks spent. They all have shareholders and pressures to deliver.
@IronMan30 There may be, and likely will be, new titles, but not from these developers who did a good job in the past.
@PhileasFragg based on history, I fear you're right but maybe this time will be different.
I will concede that's a hefty "maybe."
Why does anyone care? They're a cool company and everything but what difference will this really make?
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