Gamers were surprised earlier this month when Activision had decided to move Vicarious Visions, the creators of the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 and Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy remakes, into a subsidiary of Blizzard Entertainment. Apart from the speculation (and derision) that Vicarious Visions would be working on World of Warcraft expansions, there were thoughts of the often-rumoured but never officially announced remake of Diablo II.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Vicarious could very well be leading the remake’s development. A Vicarious Visions insider was quoted as saying that they have been working alongside Blizzard for over a year prior to the announcement of the acquisition.
Until last year, the Diablo II remake was being developed by Blizzard’s Team 1, which is part of the company’s Irvine, California, campus. However, after the poor reception of Warcraft III: Reforged, Blizzard decided to pull Team 1 and put the team behind Diablo IV in charge of the remake’s development.
While nothing has been officially stated, given that Vicarious Visions managed to successfully resurrect two franchises with excellent remakes, and the fact that Blizzard still hasn’t exactly gotten Warcraft III: Reforged up to snuff, the decision to have Vicarious Visions have a crack at it appears to make sense.
Meanwhile, Blizzard is still working away at Diablo IV, which is set for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.