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Blizzard Albany

Moby ID: 1790

AKA +
  • Vicarious Visions, Inc. (from 1994 to 2022-04-12)

Overview edit · view history

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 21 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 12 April 2022.

Credited on 124 Games from 1996 to 2021

Displaying most recent · View all

Diablo II: Resurrected (2021 on Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One...)
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (2020 on Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One...)
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 (2020 on Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One...)
WarCraft III: Reforged (2020 on Windows, Macintosh)
CTR: Crash Team Racing - Nitro-Fueled (2019 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch)
Destiny 2 (2017 on Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy (2017 on Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One...)
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (2016 on Windows, Windows Apps, PlayStation 4...)
Skylanders: Imaginators (2016 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U...)
Skylanders: SuperChargers (2015 on Wii U, PlayStation 4, Xbox One...)
Skylanders: SuperChargers Racing (2015 on Wii, Nintendo 3DS)
Skylanders: Battlecast (2015 on iPhone, iPad, Android)
Skylanders: Trap Team (2014 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii...)
Skylanders: Swap Force (2013 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii...)
Skylanders: Swap Force (2013 on Nintendo 3DS)
Call of Duty: Strike Team (2013 on iPhone, Android, iPad)
Skylanders: Battlegrounds (2012 on iPhone, Android, iPad)
Skylanders: Lost Islands (2012 on iPhone, Android, iPad)
Skylanders Giants (2012 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii...)
Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure (2011 on Nintendo 3DS)

[ view all ]

History +

June 6, 2007

the company's west coast studio in Mountain View, California, is closed by Activision

January 20, 2005

Company acquired by Activision Inc.

September 2004

Company chosen as "Small Company of the Year" by New York's The Business Review.

May 13, 2003

Vicarious Visions, Inc., purchases Intrinsic Alchemy Technology assets from Intrinsic Graphics.

1994

Vicarious Visions was founded.

[ view all ]

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

Company Mission Statement
(quoted from the company website - vvisions.com - in 2010)

We are a team of talented, energetic, and highly motivated individuals. Our people come from all areas of the globe, so we bring a very diverse mix of styles to our games. It makes for a very cool place to work ... and we have the pictures to prove it!* We make great games based on innovation and creativity. * We work with leading game publishers to reach broad audiences with our content and technology. * We succeed because of teamwork throughout the company. * We ship product. If you’ve ever put your heart and soul into a game just to see it cancelled, you’ll appreciate VV’s reputation for delivering high quality games on-time. * We believe in building a great entertainment company. We invest in our people, capabilities, and relationships for the long run.

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