Blizzard Albany
| File:Blizzard Entertainment Logo 2015.svg | |
| Formerly | Vicarious Visions, Inc. (1991–2022) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Founders |
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| Headquarters | , US |
Key people |
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Number of employees | 200+ (2021) |
| Parent |
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| Website | Archived March 20, 2022, at the Wayback Machine (redirects to blizzard.com) |
Blizzard Albany, previously known as Vicarious Visions, Inc., is a video game development studio located in Albany, New York, operating as a division of Blizzard Entertainment. Established in 1991 by siblings Karthik and Guha Bala, the company was acquired by Activision in early 2005. It transitioned to Blizzard Entertainment's ownership in January 2021 and was fully integrated into Blizzard by April 2022.
History
The enterprise was initiated by brothers Karthik and Guha Bala during their high school years. Under the strategic oversight of board members Michael Marvin—an investor and founder of MapInfo Corporation—and Charles S. Jones, a veteran director with experience in software and industrial sectors, the firm experienced significant growth. This leadership culminated in Activision acquiring the company in 2005, providing investors with returns exceeding twentyfold. In 2007, Activision shut down the studio’s Mountain View location. After a quarter-century at the helm, the Bala brothers exited the company in April 2016 and subsequently established Velan Studios.
As part of Activision Blizzard’s restructuring efforts in January 2021, Vicarious Visions was reassigned from Activision to Blizzard Entertainment, becoming one of Blizzard's subsidiaries staffed by over 200 employees. This realignment synchronized with ongoing collaboration on the Diablo II remaster titled Diablo II: Resurrected and upcoming projects including Diablo IV. During this period, studio head Jen Oneal joined Blizzard's executive team, with Simon Ebejer taking over leadership of the studio.
In October 2021, Blizzard revealed plans to rebrand the studio; this process concluded on April 12, 2022, when Vicarious Visions was officially renamed Blizzard Albany while maintaining its base in Albany.
In July 2022, the quality assurance division at Blizzard Albany initiated unionization efforts under the Game Workers Alliance Albany banner. This movement followed similar union drives at sister company Raven Software and illustrates changing labor relations within Activision Blizzard’s worldwide operations.
Game history
Terminus, a multiplayer online space trading and combat simulator, earned two awards at the 1999 Independent Games Festival. Vicarious Visions established a reputation as a premier developer for handheld gaming platforms, particularly through their work on the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater titles for Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS, including both main entries and spin-offs. They also produced the initial three Crash Bandicoot games for GBA. Their portfolio extends to titles such as Spider-Man, Ultimate Spider-Man, Crash Nitro Kart, and Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast on Xbox, along with contributions to the Guitar Hero series on Nintendo DS and Wii platforms. Notably, they developed the innovative "Guitar Grip" accessory for Guitar Hero: On Tour, enhancing portable gameplay experiences.
On June 10, 2011, Vicarious Visions announced their involvement in developing the Nintendo 3DS version of Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure. They further expanded their role within the franchise by creating Skylanders: Swap Force and Skylanders: SuperChargers. On December 8, 2016, they collaborated with Bungie to contribute to the Destiny series, broadening their presence in major gaming franchises.
Game engine
Vicarious Visions Alchemy represents the in-house game engine of the company, introduced in 2002. Originally called Intrinsic Alchemy and created by Intrinsic Graphics, it was renamed following Vicarious Visions' acquisition of Intrinsic Graphics in 2003, thereby enhancing their technological resources and development proficiency.
Games developed
| Year | Title | Platform(s) | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Synnergist | MS-DOS | |
| 1997 | Dark Angael | Windows | |
| 1999 | Zebco Fishing! | Game Boy Color | |
| Vigilante 8 | |||
| 2000 | Polaris SnoCross | Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Windows | |
| Terminus | Windows, MacOS, Linux | ||
| Spider-Man | Game Boy Color | ||
| The Wild Thornberrys: Rambler | |||
| Pro Darts | |||
| Barbie: Magic Genie Adventure | |||
| Jimmy White's Cue Ball | |||
| 2001 | Wanadoo SnowCross | Game Boy Color, Windows | |
| Rescue Heroes: Fire Frenzy | Game Boy Color | ||
| Blue's Clues: Blue's Alphabet Book | |||
| SpongeBob SquarePants: Legend of the Lost Spatula | |||
| Zoboomafoo: Playtime in Zobooland | |||
| Monsters, Inc. | |||
| Kelly Club: Clubhouse Fun | |||
| Sea-Doo Hydrocross | PlayStation | ||
| Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro | |||
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 | Game Boy Advance | ||
| Power Rangers: Time Force | |||
| Spider-Man: Mysterio's Menace | |||
| 2002 | Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure | ||
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 | |||
| Frogger Advance: The Great Quest | |||
| SpongeBob SquarePants: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman | |||
| The Powerpuff Girls: Him and Seek | |||
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 | Game Boy Advance, PlayStation | ||
| Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast | GameCube, Xbox | ||
| Whiteout | Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox | ||
| 2003 | The Muppets: On With The Show! | Game Boy Advance, Windows | |
| Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced | Game Boy Advance | ||
| Bruce Lee: Return of the Legend | |||
| X2: Wolverine's Revenge | |||
| Finding Nemo | |||
| Jet Set Radio | |||
| Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure | |||
| Disney's The Lion King 1½ | |||
| Tony Hawk's Underground | |||
| SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom | |||
|
Disney's Brother Bear |
Game Boy Advance |
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|
Crash Nitro Kart |
PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube | ||
|
Crash Nitro Kart (Game Boy Advance) |
Game Boy Advance | ||
|
Spy Muppets: License to Croak |
Game Boy Advance, Windows | ||
|
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy |
Xbox | ||
|
Rivet |
Mobile phone | ||
|
Spider-Man vs. Doc Ock |
Mobile phone | ||
|
Shrek 2 |
Game Boy Advance | ||
|
Crash Bandicoot Purple and Spyro Orange |
Game Boy Advance | ||
|
Shark Tale |
Game Boy Advance | ||
|
Tony Hawk's Underground 2 |
Game Boy Advance | ||
|
That's So Raven |
Game Boy Advance | ||
|
'Shrek 2: Beg For Mercy! |
Game Boy Advance | ||
|
'Codename: Kids Next Door – Operation: S.O.D.A. |
Game Boy Advance | ||
|
Spider-Man 2 |
Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable | ||
|
'Crash Nitro Kart (N-Gage) |
N-Gage | ||
|
Doom 3 |
Xbox | ||
|
Madagascar: Operation Penguin |
Game Boy Advance | ||
|
Batman Begins |
Game Boy Advance | ||
|
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse |
PlayStation Portable | ||
|
Madagascar |
Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS | ||
|
Ultimate Spider-Man |
Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS | ||
|
Tony Hawk's American Sk8land |
Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS | ||
|
Over the Hedge |
Various platforms including Nintendo DS and Wii | ||
|
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam |
Nintendo DS | ||
|
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance |
PlayStation Portable, Wii | ||
|
Spider-Man 3 |
Multiple platforms including PlayStation and Wii | ||
|
Shrek the Third |
Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS | ||
|
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock |
Wii | ||
|
Transformers series |
Primarily Nintendo DS | ||
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Tony Hawk's Proving Ground and Bee Movie Game |
Nintendo DS | ||
|
Kung Fu Panda and Guitar Hero On Tour series |
Various handhelds and Wii | ||
|
Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero Aerosmith |
Wii | ||
|
Guitar Hero 5 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 |
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | ||
|
Band Hero and Mixed Messages |
Nintendo DS, Wii, DSiWare | ||
|
Transformers Revenge of the Fallen series and Guitar Hero On Tour Modern Hits |
Nintendo DS | ||
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'Transformers War for Cybertron series and Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock |
Multiple platforms including Wii and iOS | ||
|
'Skylanders franchise (2011–2016) |
Multiple platforms including Nintendo 3DS, iOS, Android, PlayStation, Xbox, Wii U, Nintendo Switch | ||
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'Call of Duty series support (2016–2021) |
PlayStation, Xbox, Windows; assisted Raven Software | ||
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Destiny 2 support team (2017), Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (2017), Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 (2020) |
Various modern consoles and PC | ||
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'Diablo II: Resurrected (2021), Diablo IV series (2023–2024), co-developed with Blizzard Team 3 |
PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox Series X/S & One, Nintendo Switch, Windows |
Cancelled titles
| Year | Title | Platform(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | AMF Xtreme Bowling | Game Boy Color |
| VR Sports Powerboat Racing | ||
| Carnivale | ||
| 2001 | Sea-Doo Hydrocross | Game Boy Color, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64 |
| 2003 | Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder 2 | Game Boy Advance |
| Static Shock | ||
| 2008 | Call of Duty: Roman Wars | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |