Vicarious Visions Working on Diablo II Remake: Report

Jason Schreier reports on Bloomberg (may require registration or subscription) that Vicarious Visions is working on the long rumored remake of Diablo II. This follows yesterday's news that the studio is now part of Blizzard and "fully dedicated to existing Blizzard games and initiatives." According to the new story, the game was being handled by Blizzard's Team 1, an internal studio responsible for the poorly received Warcraft III: Reforged. But according to Bloomberg, that team has been dismantled, and the Diablo II remake is in the hands of the Diablo IV team and Vicarious Visions:
Team 1 wanted to avoid repeating the mistakes of Warcraft III: Reforged on its next project, the remake of Diablo II. Shortly after the postmortem, however, Blizzard pulled that project from the team and put the division behind Diablo IV in charge. A group at Vicarious Visions is also working on the remake, which was known as Diablo II: Resurrected.

On Oct. 15, 2020, Blizzard informed members of Team 1 that it was reorganizing the entire division, according to the people who worked on Warcraft III: Reforged. In the following weeks, members of the team were given opportunities to interview for jobs elsewhere within Blizzard. Those who did not find positions in the company were gradually cut. Others left for independent studios recently started by high-profile company veterans, such as Frost Giant Inc. and DreamHaven Inc., started by Blizzard co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer Mike Morhaime, whose departure widely signaled the beginning of Activision's takeover.