Tony Hawk says that despite initial plans to remake Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4, Activision is no longer moving forward with the project. The Vicarious Visions release of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 proved to be a big success, prompting many fans to ask for remakes of the next two games in the franchise. Activision apparently planned to do just that at one point in time. Then it decided not to, due to different plans for Vicarious Visions.
Launching in late 2020, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 quickly became the fastest-selling game in the franchise. It sold over a million copies in just two weeks and received critical acclaim. The release included remasters of both the first Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and its sequel, games from 1999 and 2000, respectively. It included 4K updates of each game's assets, plus most of the licensed music from the two skateboarding classics. While it didn't expand on the original two games, fans saw it as a launching point for future Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games.
The natural direction for the franchise following the success of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 seemed to be a Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 remaster collection. Tony Hawk himself, speaking on the subject on Twitch, confirmed that Activision planned to do just that. However, developer Vicarious Visions was merged into Blizzard. Plans for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 faded away after that.
Hawk confirms that even after Vicarious Visions was no longer planned for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4, Activision sought out a different developer for the project. Activision was ultimately unhappy with proposals for future Tony Hawk's games, and the project was put on ice. Hawk says that Activision, "didn't really trust anyone the way they did Vicarious."
Vicarious Visions was merged into Blizzard in April 2022 following the release of Diablo 2: Resurrected, which it co-developed. It's since been renamed Blizzard Albany and it is known to be working on Diablo 4. While Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 was successful, Activision likely prioritized Vicarious Visions' experience with live service games and how that could benefit the development of Diablo 4.
It may be disappointing that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 isn't happening, especially after how Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 was received, but Tony Hawk hasn't given up hope. He says that, "Maybe when all the dust settles, we'll figure it out." That perhaps means Hawk is hopeful that once the business surrounding Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard concludes, he can push for a new Tony Hawk's Pro Skater game to be made.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: IGN