A while ago there was a rumour circulating that a Diablo 2 remaster could be in the works at Vicarious Visions so this latest move is intriguing.
Update
Since the original story broke, further information from Bloomberg indicates that the Diablo 2 remaster has been in the works adding:
Vicarious Visions, based in Albany, New York, has been working with Blizzard since last year on the Diablo franchise, including a planned remake of Diablo II, people familiar with the plans said. They asked not to be identified discussing private information.
Team 1 wanted to avoid repeating the mistakes of Warcraft III: Reforged on its next project, the remake of Diablo II. Shortly after the postmortem, however, Blizzard pulled that project from the team and put the division behind Diablo IV in charge. A group at Vicarious Visions is also working on the remake, which was known as Diablo II: Resurrected.
Thanks HK.
Original Story
Activision has announced that the Vicarious Visions studio has now been merged into Blizzard to work on Blizzard projects. This is an interesting development because rumours were circulating last year that the studio could be behind a Diablo 2 remaster allegedly called Diablo 2: Resurrected.
Vicarious Visions was acquired by Activision way back in 2005 and have been involved with numerous Activision ports and remasters in recent years. These have included the PC port of Destiny 2 and the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 remaasters.
According to Blizzard, the 200 strong workforce at Vicarious Visions will be, “fully dedicated to existing Blizzard games and initiatives”. However, Blizzard has declined to say what exactly it is they are now working on as part of the Blizzard operation.
Perhaps Diablo 2 is on Blizzard’s radar after all but with Diablo 4 currently in the works, it would seem odd unless the Diablo 4 is still some way out from release. However, a Diablo 2 remaster would be a huge earner for Blizzard and we all know Activision likes to see a lot of sales.
Thanks GI.