Blizzard Entertainment, the other half of the corporation cum video game mega studio that is Activision Blizzard, recently grew in size after it announced that it had absorbed a subsidiary studio that once resided within Activision.
According to multiple sources, the studio, Vicarious Visions, was made a part of the Blizzard family with immediate effect, and comprises over 200 staff members, who have now been shifted into a “long-term support” team that will be dedicated towards “existing Blizzard games and initiatives”. And its first order of business? Apparently, working on the remake the developer’s critically acclaimed Diablo 2. A risky move, considering that this was the same team that fumbled its way to the finish line with the horrifying Warcraft III: Reforged.
That isn’t to say that Vicarious Visions hasn’t had success with remastered other games. The studio is also responsible for pushing out the well-received remaster of Naughty Dog’s original Crash Bandicoot series as the N.Sane Trilogy, as well as the remastering of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2.
Returning to the Diablo II remaster, Blizzard still hasn’t officially acknowledged the existence of the game, let alone provide a tangible launch date. If we were to take a guess, the remaster could manifest itself during one of two periods. The first is right before the launch of Diablo IV, as a means of sating and reigniting fan interest. The second could be after the launch of the major instalment.
(Source: Bloomberg, Ars Technica)
Axl Tan contributed to this article.
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