In 2022, Vicarious Visions merged with gaming juggernaut Blizzard Entertainment. The developer’s decision to join Blizzard may have come at the cost of the Tony Hawk Remake series coming to an early end. Even Tony Hawk himself blamed the series’ cancellation on the deal, stating, “We were going 3 and 4.” Hawk claimed, “And then Vicarious got kind of absorbed, and then they were looking for other developers, and then it was over.”
However, maybe there is light at the end of this tunnel. With the first installment of the Tony Hawk Pro Skater Remake being released for Steam and Microsoft officially acquiring Activision Blizzard, there may be signs of life for the series.
Xbox to the rescue?
For a decade, Xbox has struggled to produce ground-breaking exclusives for its various consoles. Since the release of the Xbox One, Microsoft has prioritized multi-media entertainment over video games. This strategy has left the Xbox consoles dry of memorable exclusives while PlayStation continues to pump out amazing console exclusives almost yearly.
However, Microsoft has gone to great lengths to combat this issue. With the acquisition of ZeniMax Media and other gaming companies, games like Hi-Fi Rush and Starfield have emerged as Xbox exclusives. And with games like Fable, Hellblade Senua’s Saga, and The Elder Scrolls 6 still yet to be released, Xbox’s future could be in great hands.
Now, with Microsoft’s focus on exclusives and a massive deal with Activision Blizzard officially secured, could Xbox revive The Tony Hawk Pro Skater Remake series? I want to say “yes,” but we don’t know. I think this would be a great game to add to an already growing lineup of exclusives for the company. In addition, the first game in the series was heavily praised by critics and fans alike. Xbox would be crazy not to develop Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3+4 Remake.
What are the odds?
Many of Vicarious Visions’ employees have been spread out amongst Blizzard Entertainment, so the talent to make Tony Pro Skater 3+4 Remake is there. Ultimately, this is down to Xbox’s willingness to delegate the staffing to develop the game. However, with Xbox’s deal with Activision Blizzard, the company now controls some of the industry’s most popular series, like Call of Duty and Overwatch, so the priorities for developers may lie elsewhere.
To further my investigation into the future of the series, I asked two reliable sources when it comes to gaming news and updates: Mike Straw of Insider Gaming and Kami, formerly of MP1st.
“I knew it [Tony Hawk Remake sequel] was planned after the first remake.” Mike Straw stated, “But, after the ABK acquisition, I think there’s a chance it gets shelved.”
Kami suggested that the Call of Duty franchise will be the main focus of Activision Blizzard for the time being.
“I would assume they’re going to continue working on COD until at least COD 2024,” Kami said.
Overall, I think it would be in Xbox’s best interest not to shelve the Tony Pro Skater Remake series and add it to its growing list of exclusives. Unfortunately, the decision is with the massive game publisher, and with so many significant projects in its lineup, the skateboarding franchise might not be a priority anytime soon.
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