Overview
Vicarious Visions was founded in 1994 as an independent game development company located in Troy, New York, and led by President/CEO
Karthik Bala.
The company released its first title,
Synnergist, a PC CD-ROM graphic adventure, in Europe in 1996.
Dark Angæl, a fantasy action-adventure, was released in Fall 1997 as the company's second title. Game development for console platforms began in about 1999.
The company was acquired by
Activision in January 2005 and operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary. Vicarious Visions had a development studio located in Mountain View, California, which primarily developed handheld games. This studio employed about 25 people and was closed by Activision in June 2007.
For Activision, Vicarious Visions worked on many licensed games such as
Shrek,
Spider-Man and
Kung Fu Panda. The studio also created titles in the
Guitar Hero series, such as
Guitar Hero: On Tour and the Wii version of
Band Hero.
In February 2011 Activision decided not to develop any more
Guitar Hero or
Tony Hawk games. According to the website Develop, the studio was working on a new
Guitar Hero at the time. Develop's source states that closure was averted, but about 50 people were laid off, about a quarter of the workforce.
Later that month the new studio
Play Eternal was announced, with former VV members such as
Albert Vazquez and
Brandon Van Slyk.
On 21st January 2021 it was announced the studio of 200 employees was moved from Activision to the Blizzard side of the parent company, merging the team entirely into
Blizzard Entertainment. That way
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 (2020) was the last title developed using the Vicarious Visions name. From then on all the team's work was using the Blizzard name and the studio remained in Albany, New York.
Simon Ebejer became the new studio head, replacing
Jen Oneal who had been promoted to Blizzard Executive Vice President of Development. A few days later Bloomberg reported that the studio was working on a remaster of
Diablo II. The studio was officially renamed Blizzard Albany on 12th April 2022.
Also Known As
- Vicarious Visions, Inc. (from 1994 to Apr 12, 2022)
Games
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Trivia
Company locations and contact information:
2006:
Corporate Headquarters
Vicarious Visions, Inc.
50 Broadway, Suite 205
Albany, New York 12204
USA
Main Phone: +1-518-701-2500
Fax: +1-518-701-2501
West Coast Studio
480 San Antonio Road
Suite 235, Second Floor
Mountain View, CA 94040-1251
USA
2004:
Vicarious Visions, Inc.
350 Jordan Road
Troy, NY 12180-7629
USA
Main Phone: +1-518-283-4090
Fax: +1-518-283-4095
Website: www.vvisions.com
1999, 2000:
Vicarious Visions, Inc.
385 Jordan Road
Troy, NY 12180
Fax: (518)283-4095
Website: www.vvisions.com
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