Blizzard Classic Games Division Dismantled

  • March 3, 2021 10:44 PM PST
    More news following today's report that Activision subsidiary studio Vicarious Visions was being merged under Blizzard Entertainment, as Jason Schreier released an exposé detailing the dismantling of Blizzard's Classic Games division. While there's still no official announcement, the Diablo 2 remaster we reported on last year is all but confirmed, and his article explains how the failures of Warcraft III: Reforged led to Vicarious Visions taking a role in Diablo 2: Resurrected.To get more news about [url=https://www.lootwowgold.com/news/where-is-the-best-place-to-buy-wow-gold.html]fast wow gold[/url], you can visit lootwowgold official website.
    Previously responsible for updating and remastering older games, the Classic Games team created Starcraft: Remastered, Warcraft III: Reforged, and maintained legacy Warcraft and Diablo game servers. Following the scaling back of Heroes of the Storm and announcement that Blizzard would cease major development on Starcraft 2, their maintenance responsibilities appear to have been folded in as well - do note however that the Classic Games Division was not responsible for WoW Classic, which remains in the hands of the World of Warcraft team. Following the release of Warcraft III: Reforged, the team was initially given the task of remaking Diablo II, although Reforged's lukewarm reception led to the project being placed in the hands of the Diablo IV team instead, with Vicarious Visions assisting. In his article, Schreier describes the dismantling of the Classic Games team, although it's not made clear who will take on their remaining responsibilities - for example, we know that Heroes of the Storm is still regularly receiving new heroes and events.
    While Schreier attributes the merger as "another example of Activision eroding Blizzard's autonomy", it should be pointed out that Vicarious Visions has an exceptional track record in porting and remastering other developer's games. In their near 30 year history as a developer, they have very few originally developed titles (most of which were for GBA and Nintendo DS), while their most notable works have all been in support of other studios (Bungie/Destiny 2) or remastering previous games (Crash Bandicoot, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater). So while it may seem alarming to some, it would appear that they've picked the very best to help ensure Diablo II: Resurrected does not repeat the same mistakes of Warcraft III: Reforged, and Vicarious Visions' inclusion is a very good sign for the future of Diablo and any other Blizzard franchises they work on.