September2022
Random This Fan-Made Crash Bandicoot Game Remakes A Hidden GBA Minigame
Aku Aku-knowledging the past
After having a lot of fun with Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time when we reviewed the game last year, we have been eager to hear more news about the orange blur. An upcoming fan project from Unknown Door Games seems to do just that, though in a slightly less official release/full game kind of way. Posting their...
June2022
"I wish I could say we had something in the works"
Fans of the Birdman (that's Tony Hawk) got quite a shock earlier this year in April when it was revealed the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater developer Vicarious Visions had been absorbed by Blizzard Entertainment. Concerns were raised about the future of the series at the time, and if remasters of the third...
October2021
News Vicarious Visions Staff Left "Blindsided" By Reported Merger With Embattled Blizzard
All is not well at the Diablo II: Resurrected studio
Vicarious Visions – the studio behind multiple Crash Bandicoot, Tony Hawk, Guitar Hero and Skylanders entries – is to be merged with Blizzard, it is being reported. According to Polygon, which has spoken to various staff at the studio, the decision to abandon the Vicarious Visions name and...
August2021
News Blizzard President J. Allen Brack Is Leaving The Company
Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra to replace him
Content warning: Please be aware that the following article and the sources linked within touch on topics including discrimination, sexual harassment and assault, and suicide. On July 21st, Bloomberg Law reported that Activision Blizzard — the multi-billion dollar company behind Diablo, Ov
January2021
The 200-person studio now only works on Blizzard games
Vicarious Visions is no more. As of today, the 31-year-old company has been fully subsumed into Blizzard, and will be "fully dedicated to existing Blizzard games and initiatives" from now on. In an interview with gamesindustry.biz, a representative for Vicarious Visions said the following:...
March2020
News Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy Is Out Today On Switch
As seen in the Direct Mini
Update 2 (Thu 26th Mar, 2020 16:00 GMT): And there we have it! Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy is being made available today on Nintendo Switch. The game was shown off in today's Nintendo Direct Mini, where it was also revealed that Star Wars Episode I: Racer will be getting a Switch remake. Here's a feature list:...
November2019
Rumour Crash Bandicoot Might Be Returning In A Completely "New" Game
Comeback king
At the start of this year, Activision revealed the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy had shifted more than 10 million units worldwide. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled followed this and managed to finish in first place on multiple occa
July2018
Video Here's How Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy On Switch Compares To Other Versions
It's a close call
Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy is available now on Switch but has previously been released on Sony and Microsoft's consoles. If you're mulling a purchase and already own a PS4 or Xbox One system, you may well be wondering how the Switch version compares - and whether you should choose portability over performance. As we said in...
February2018
Rumour Spyro Trilogy Coming To Multiple Formats Next Year After PS4 Exclusivity Ends
Hot stuff?
According to Kotaku UK - which has consulted sources close to the project - we'll be getting a Spyro the Dragon Trilogy Remaster this year similar in scope to the wildly-successful Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. The games included will be Spyro the Dragon, Ripto's Rage!, and Year of the Dragon, and there's a chance that...
December2016
News Skylanders Developer Vicarious Visions Is Now Working On Destiny
Backs up rumours of series cancellation
It has been confirmed thatSkylanders developer Vicarious Visions is helping Bungie with Destiny, adding credence to rumours that Activision is pulling the plug on its defining toys-to-life franchise following disappointing sales of the latest entry, Skylanders Imaginators. Vicarious Visions has worked on the...
August2015
News Skylander SuperChargers Racing On Wii And 3DS Will Offer Bespoke Tracks And Progression
Racing experience "unlike" anything you'll see on current-gen systems
Activision may have unveiled a lot of the Wii U version of Skylanders SuperChargers at Gamescom 2015, featuring heavily the platform-wide addition of its Kart Racing mode, but we are still light on details relating to the Wii and 3DS versions of the game. Talking to Vicarious...
June2015
Starter packs for both consoles getting hybrid figures
One of the shock announcements from Nintendo's Digital Event yesterday was the news that Skylanders Superchargers on Wii U would be getting two brand-new amiibo figures. Donkey Kong and Bowser are both joining the cast of Activision's forthcoming toys-to-life sequel, complete with special...
September2013
Developer Interview Eric Carter on Skylanders: SWAP Force for Wii U
Producer discusses UI differences and developing on Wii U
At the time of writing, the launch of Skylanders: SWAP Force, the third instalment in the highly successful Skylanders game series, is just a few short weeks away. In preparation for its release, we were generously invited to tour Vicarious Visions headquarters in Albany, NY to learn a little...
Hands On Skylanders: SWAP Force
We visit Vicarious Visions HQ to check out Skylanders: SWAP Force
It’s difficult to believe that the Skylanders franchise — a series that has sold millions of copies worldwide and has spawned a multitude of sequels and spin-offs — is only just turning two years old. Since the 2011 release of the series debut, Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure,...
September2010
News Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock to Expand Wii and DS Connectivity
Now with double the cross-platform players
It seems Vicarious Visions and Activision are trying to add a much-needed key-change to the Guitar Hero melody, and as if a new story mode isn't enough, the creators are expanding the connectivity between Wii and DS players with a selection of play modes and multiplayer functions. The Roadie Battle mode...
June2010
News Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock to Feature All-New Story Mode
Activision re-designs the guitar controller (we wouldn't be surprised if it looks like an udder)
To an extent, as long as gamers are satisfied with the track selection on the Guitar Hero brand of games, they are probably more than happy to carry on buying the continuous stream of new instalments that keep the franchise alive. If you don't mind the...
