Vicarious Visions

Short description: American video game developer

Blizzard AlbanyFormerly| Vicarious Visions, Inc. (1991–2022)

|

Type| Subsidiary
Industry| Video games
Founded| 1991; 35 years ago (1991)
Founders|

* Karthik Bala
* Guha Bala

Headquarters|

Albany, New York

Key people

* Simon Ebejer (studio head)
* Aaron Ondek (CTO)

Number of employees

| 200+ (2021)
Parent|

* Activision (2005–2021)
* Blizzard Entertainment (2021–present)

Website| (now redirects to blizzard.com)

Blizzard Albany (formerly Vicarious Visions, Inc.) is an American video game developer based in Albany, New York. The studio was acquired by Activision in January 2005. After releasing its last game as part of that company, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2, Vicarious Visions became part of Activision's sister company Blizzard Entertainment in January 2021 and was merged into it in April 2022, thereby being renamed Blizzard Albany.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Game history
* 3 Game engine
* 4 Games developed
* 5 Cancelled games
* 6 Notes
* 7 References
* 8 External links

## History

Final Vicarious Visions logo used from 2017 until its rebrand in 2022.

The studio was founded by brothers Karthik and Guha Bala in 1991 while they were in high school.[1] In the late 1990s, Vicarious Visions appointed Michael Marvin, an Albany-based investor and entrepreneur, and founder and former CEO of MapInfo Corporation; and Charles S. Jones, investor, who sat on the boards of various software and industrial companies including Geac and PSDI, to its board of directors. Under their leadership, a sale of the company was negotiated to Activision, earning the original investors over 20x their initial investment.[citation needed] In January 2005, Vicarious Visions was acquired by publisher Activision. In June 2007, Activision closed the Vicarious Visions' office in Mountain View, California.[2] On April 5, 2016, the Bala brothers announced that they had left the company.[3] The brothers then founded Velan Studios in November 2016.[4]

On January 22, 2021, Vicarious Visions was moved by Activision Blizzard from a subsidiary of Activision to a subsidiary of Blizzard Entertainment. Going forward, the more than 200 employees of Vicarious Visions will be employees of Blizzard.[5] Vicarious had been working with Blizzard for about two years prior to this announcement, and specifically on the planned remaster of Diablo II, Diablo II, and Blizzard felt the move would be best as to have Vicarious' group provide continued support not only on the remaster but also on other Diablo properties including Diablo IV.[6][7] Vicarious Visions studio head Jen Oneal moved to Blizzard's management and was succeeded by Simon Ebejer, previously the studio's chief operating officer.[8] On October 27, 2021, Blizzard informed Vicarious Visions employees that the studio would change its name.[9] The studio was fully merged into Blizzard on April 12, 2022, and was renamed Blizzard Albany, otherwise retaining its offices.[10][11]

Blizzard Albany's QA team, about 20 members in size, announced a unionization drive in July 2022 as GWA Albany. It follows Raven Software, another Activision Blizzard subsidiary, whose QA team voted to unionize earlier in the year.[12]

## Game history

Terminus, an online multiplayer space trading and combat simulation game, won two Independent Games Festival Awards in 1999. They became known as a leading developer of handheld games breaking ground by the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series, developing Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS titles in the franchise's main series as well as one spin off. They developed the first three Crash Bandicoot GBA games. Vicarious Visions developed Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Ultimate Spider-Man, Crash Nitro Kart, Star Wars Jedi Knight II, Star Wars Jedi Knight, and Doom 3 for the Xbox. Vicarious Visions developed for the Guitar Hero series on the Nintendo DS and Wii platforms. For Guitar Hero: On Tour, Vicarious Visions created the "Guitar Grip" peripheral for the Nintendo DS, which emulates the guitar controller for the portable system.

It was revealed on June 10, 2011, that Vicarious Visions was working on the 3DS version of Skylanders, and would go on to have an important role in developing the Skylanders game series, creating the games Skylanders and Skylanders.[13] On December 8, 2016, Vicarious Visions announced that they were partnering with Bungie to work on the Destiny franchise.[14]

## Game engine

Vicarious Visions Alchemy is the company's game engine. It was released in 2002. It was originally called Intrinsic Alchemy and developed by Intrinsic Graphics before being renamed after Vicarious Visions acquired Intrinsic Graphics in 2003.[15]

## Games developed

Year | Game | Platform(s)  | Notes

|
|
|

1996 | Synnergist | Microsoft DOS (PC CD-ROM) |
1997 | Dark Angael | Microsoft Windows |
1999 | Zebco Fishing! | Game Boy Color  |
Vigilante 8 |
2000 | Polaris SnoCross | Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Microsoft Windows  |
Terminus | Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Linux  |
Spider-Man | Game Boy Color  |
The Wild Thornberrys |
Pro Darts |
Barbie |
Jimmy White's Cue Ball |
2001 | Wanadoo SnowCross | Game Boy Color, Microsoft Windows  |
Rescue Heroes: Fire Frenzy | Game Boy Color  |
Blue's Clues: Blue's Alphabet Book |
SpongeBob SquarePants |
Zoboomafoo: Playtime in Zobooland |
Monsters, Inc. |
Kelly Club: Clubhouse Fun |
Sea-Doo Hydrocross | PlayStation  |
Spider-Man 2 |
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 | Game Boy Advance  |
Power Rangers: Time Force |
Spider-Man |
2002 | Crash Bandicoot |
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 |
Frogger Advance |
SpongeBob SquarePants |
The Powerpuff Girls: Him and Seek |
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 | Game Boy Advance, PlayStation  |
Star Wars Jedi Knight II | GameCube, Xbox |
Whiteout | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox  |
2003 | The Muppets: On With The Show! | Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows  |
Crash Bandicoot 2 | Game Boy Advance  |
Bruce Lee |
X2 |
Finding Nemo |
Jet Set Radio |
Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure |
Disney's The Lion King 1½ |
Tony Hawk's Underground |
SpongeBob SquarePants |
Disney's Brother Bear |
Crash Nitro Kart | Game Boy Advance, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, N-Gage  |
Spy Muppets | Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows  |
Star Wars Jedi Knight | Xbox  |
2004 | Rivet | Mobile phone |
Spider-Man vs. Doc Ock |
Shrek 2 | Game Boy Advance  |
Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage and Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy |
Shark Tale |
Tony Hawk's Underground 2 |
That's So Raven |
Shrek 2: Beg For Mercy! |
Codename |
Spider-Man 2 | Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable |
2005 | Doom 3 | Xbox  |
Madagascar | Game Boy Advance  |
Batman Begins |
X-Men Legends II | PlayStation Portable  |
Madagascar | Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS  |
Ultimate Spider-Man |
Tony Hawk's American Sk8land |
2006 | Over the Hedge |
Over the Hedge: Hammy Goes Nuts | Game Boy Advance  |
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam | Nintendo DS  |
Marvel | PlayStation Portable, Wii |
2007 | Spider-Man 3 | Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii  |
Shrek the Third | Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS  |
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock | Wii  |
Transformers: Decepticons | Nintendo DS  |
Transformers: Autobots |
Tony Hawk's Proving Ground |
Bee Movie Game |
2008 | Kung Fu Panda |
Guitar Hero: On Tour |
007: Quantum of Solace |
Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades |
Guitar Hero | Wii  |
Guitar Hero World Tour |
2009 | Guitar Hero 5 |
Marvel | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |
Band Hero | Nintendo DS, Wii  |
Mixed Messages | DSiWare  |
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - Decepticons | Nintendo DS  |
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - Autobots |
Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits |
2010 | Transformers War for Cybertron: Decepticons |
Transformers War for Cybertron: Autobots |
Guitar Hero | iOS |
Guitar Hero | Wii  |
2011 | Skylanders | Nintendo 3DS |
2012 | Skylanders: Cloud Patrol | iOS, Android, Kindle Fire  |
Skylanders: Lost Islands | iOS, Android  |
Skylanders: Battlegrounds |
Skylanders | Wii U  |
2013 | Skylanders | PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U,[16] Xbox 360, Xbox One  |
2014 | Skylanders | iOS, Android, Kindle Fire  |
2015 | Skylanders | PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, iOS |
2016 | Skylanders: Imaginators (Crash Edition) | PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch  |
2016  | Call of Duty | PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC  |
2017 | Destiny 2[lower-alpha 1] | Microsoft Windows  |
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy | PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC |
2020 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 | PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch  |
2020  | Call of Duty | PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S | Assisted Raven Software
2021  | Call of Duty | PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S | Assisted Raven Software
2021 | Diablo II | PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC[17] | Co-developed with Blizzard Entertainment
2023  | Diablo IV | PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC  | Co-developed with Blizzard Team 3

## Cancelled games

Year | Game | Platform(s)

|
|

2000 | AMF Xtreme Bowling | Game Boy Color
VR Sports Powerboat Racing
Carnivale
2001 | Sea-Doo Hydrocross | Game Boy Color, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64
2003  | Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder 2[18] | Game Boy Advance
Static Shock[19]
2008 | Call of Duty: Roman Wars | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
2010 | DJ Hero 3D | Nintendo 3DS
2011 | Guitar Hero 7 | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii
2012 | Untitled Crash Bandicoot game
2017 | Untitled Skylanders game | PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, Switch
2021 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4[20] | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch

## Notes

1. ↑ As a support team for Bungie

## References

1. ↑ Frank, Allegra (April 5, 2016). "Vicarious Visions co-founders move on after 25 years". Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/2016/4/5/11370024/vicarious-visions-founders-leave-karthik-guha-bala.
2. ↑ Handy, Alex (June 7, 2007). "Exclusive: Activision Closes Vicarious Visions' CA Office". Gamasutra. https://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=14236.
3. ↑ Futter, Mike (April 5, 2016). "Vicarious Visions Co-Founder Brothers Depart After 25 Years". Game Informer. http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2016/04/05/vicarious-visions-co-founder-brothers-depart-after-25-years.aspx?. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
4. ↑ "Bala brothers found Velan studios". Market for Computer & Video Games. November 21, 2016. https://www.mcvuk.com/development-news/bala-brothers-found-velan-studios/. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
5. ↑ Sinclair, Brendan (January 22, 2021). "Vicarious Visions merged into Blizzard". GamesIndustry.biz. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-01-22-vicarious-visions-merged-into-blizzard.
6. ↑ Schreier, Jason (January 22, 2021). "Blizzard Absorbs Activision Studio After Dismantling Classic Games Team". Bloomberg News. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-22/blizzard-absorbs-activision-studio-after-dismantling-classic-games-team.
7. ↑ Minotti, Mike (February 22, 2021). "Blizzard leaders J. Allen Brack and Allen Adham on leaks, Reforged lessons, mobile, and more". Venture Beat. https://venturebeat.com/2021/02/22/blizzard-leaders-j-allen-brack-and-allen-adham-on-leaks-reforged-lessons-mobile-and-more/. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
8. ↑ Bankhurst, Adam (January 22, 2021). "Activision Merges Blizzard and Vicarious Visions". https://www.ign.com/articles/activision-merges-blizzard-and-vicarious-visions.
9. ↑ "Vicarious Visions to drop its name and fully merge with Blizzard, sources say". October 27, 2021. https://www.polygon.com/22749644/vicarious-visions-blizzard-albany-merger-studio-name-change.
10. ↑ Middler, Jordan (April 12, 2022). "Tony Hawk studio Vicarious Visions is no more as it completes merger with Blizzard". https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/tony-hawk-studio-vicarious-visions-is-no-more-as-it-completes-merger-with-blizzard/.
11. ↑ Kennedy, Victoria (April 12, 2022). "Skylanders dev Vicarious Visions is officially renamed Blizzard Albany". https://www.eurogamer.net/skylanders-dev-vicarious-visions-is-officially-renamed-blizzard-albany.
12. ↑ "Blizzard QA workers in Albany are organizing Activision's second union". July 19, 2022. https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/19/23270108/blizzard-qa-workers-union-activision-gwa-albany-vicarious-visions.
13. ↑ "Report: Job Losses At Vicarious Visions". Nintendo World Report. June 10, 2011. http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressions/26739.
14. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (December 8, 2016). "Destiny Development Team Expands With Vicarious Visions". Polygon. http://www.polygon.com/2016/12/8/13888632/destiny-development-team-vicarious-visions.
15. ↑ "Vicarious Visions Acquires Intrinsic Graphics Technology" (in en). https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/1782/Vicarious_Visions_Acquires_Intrinsic_Graphics_Technology.php.
16. ↑ East, Thomas (July 2, 2013). "Skylanders Swap Force Wii will be very close to the HD versions". Official Nintendo Magazine. http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/51729/skylanders-swap-force-wii-will-be-very-close-to-the-hd-versions/.
17. ↑ Machkovech, Sam (2021-02-19). "Diablo II Resurrected tops BlizzCon announcement flurry" (in en-us). Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/02/diablo-ii-resurrected-tops-blizzcon-announcement-flurry/. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
18. ↑ jkdmedia (2012-05-04). "Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder 2 Talent Announcement" (in en-US). https://www.gamezone.com/news/shaun_palmer_s_pro_snowboarder_2_talent_announcement/.
19. ↑ "Static Shock - In Development". Vicarious Visions. http://www.vvisions.com/games/details.cfm?ID=56. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
20. ↑ Reilly, Luke (June 20, 2022). "Tony Hawk Confirms Plans for Pro Skater 3 + 4 Remake Were Abandoned After Blizzard Merger". https://www.ign.com/articles/tony-hawk-confirms-plans-for-pro-skater-3-4-remake-were-abandoned-after-blizzard-merger.

## External links

* v
* t
* e

Activision

A subsidiary of Activision Blizzard

Franchises|

* 3D Ultra Minigolf
* Assault Heroes
* Cabela's
* Call of Duty
* Crash Bandicoot
* Geometry Wars
* Guitar Hero
* King's Quest
* Pitfall!
* Space Quest
* Skylanders
* Spyro
* Tony Hawk
* True Crime

Subsidiaries|

| Current|

* Beenox
* Demonware
* High Moon Studios
* Infinity Ward
* Radical Entertainment
* Raven Software
* Sledgehammer Games
* Toys for Bob
* Treyarch
* Vicarious Visions

|

Former|

* Behaviour Santiago
* Bizarre Creations
* Budcat Creations
* FreeStyleGames
* Gray Matter Interactive
* Infocom
* Luxoflux
* Massive Entertainment
* Neversoft
* RedOctane
* Shaba Games
* Sierra Entertainment
* Swordfish Studios
* Underground Development

Related|

* Blizzard Entertainment
* King
* Vivendi Games

* v
* t
* e

Crash Bandicoot

List of games

Main series|

| Original|

* Crash Bandicoot
* Cortex Strikes Back
* Warped
* The Wrath of Cortex
* Twinsanity
* Crash of the Titans
* Mind over Mutant

|

Revival|

* N. Sane Trilogy
* It's About Time

Spin-offs|

| Racing|

* Team Racing
* Nitro Kart
* Tag Team Racing
* Team Racing Nitro-Fueled

|

Party|

* Bash
* Boom Bang!

Handheld|

* The Huge Adventure
* N-Tranced
* Purple: Ripto's Rampage
* Nitro Kart 3D
* Nitro Kart 2
* Mobile games

Other|

* Skylanders

Characters|

* Crash Bandicoot
* Doctor Neo Cortex

* v
* t
* e

Tony Hawk's series

Video games|

| Main series|

* Pro Skater
* Pro Skater 2
* Pro Skater 3
* Pro Skater 4
* Underground
* Underground 2
* Remix
* American Wasteland
* Sk8land
* Project 8
* Proving Ground
* Pro Skater 5

|

Remakes/Remasters|

* Pro Skater 2x
* Pro Skater HD
* Pro Skater 1 + 2

Other games|

* Downhill Jam
* Motion
* Vert
* Ride
* Shred
* Shred Session
* Skate Jam

Related|

| Games|

* Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX
* Pro BMX 2
* Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder
* Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer
* Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure
* THUG Pro

|

* Tony Hawk
* Neversoft
* Vicarious Visions
* Robomodo
* Activision

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