Vicarious Visions

Vicarious Visions was an American development studio founded in 1990 in Albany, New York. The studio built up an excellent reputation for developing high-quality games as well as top-class remasters and remakes. From 2005, it was part of Activision, and in 2022 it was incorporated into Blizzard Entertainment.

It gained widespread popularity thanks to the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series, to which it contributed a number of successful instalments. It achieved its greatest acclaim with the remake of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, which faithfully reworked two legendary skateboarding games with modern graphics whilst retaining the original gameplay.

Another major success for the studio was the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy collection, which completely remade the first three instalments of the famous platformer series. Vicarious Visions also contributed to the Skylanders series, as well as the games Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, Spider-Man: Friend or Foe, Guitar Hero and Destiny 2, on the development of which it collaborated with Bungie.

The studio was renowned for its exceptional technical quality, attention to detail and ability to modernise classic games whilst preserving their original charm. As a result, it earned the respect of both players and industry experts, and its remasters are still considered among the best in the gaming industry.

Although the Vicarious Visions brand no longer operates independently, its games and remakes have left a significant mark on the history of video games. Thanks to titles such as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy and Skylanders, the studio ranks among the most respected developers of its generation.