A day after officially becoming an independent studio, Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon developer Toys For Bob has announced that it’s officially partnering with Microsoft on its next game.
Earlier this week it was rumored that the studio would be partnering with Microsoft, which seems to indicate there are no hard feelings after the separation. That rumor has now been outright confirmed by the studio itself.
Toys For Bob made the announcement on X (formerly Twitter), saying “We’re still very early in development, so you might not hear from us for a bit – but know that we’re working hard on an experience we’re sooo inspired about!”
After being acquired by Activision, Toys For Bob became the studio behind the Skylanders franchise. It then went on to make the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, Spyro Reignited Trilogy, Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, and Crash Team Rumble.
During the development of Crash Team Rumble, and after release the studio worked on support for the Call of Duty franchise, and was part of the sweeping layoffs by Microsoft in February after the Activision Blizzard acquisition, with 85 developers laid off. Shortly after that, Toys For Bob announced it was spinning off as an independent developer, which would allow it to return to “being a small and nimble studio.”
While we don’t know what Toys For Bob’s next game is, considering the studio is partnering with Microsoft it seems highly likely it’s something Crash or Spyro related.
Earlier this year there were rumors that Spyro the Dragon 4 was in development at Toys For Bob. A video posted by YouTuber Canadian Guy Eh claimed that the new Spyro game was in the early stages, based on “numerous, serious” sources from PAX East.
It would certainly line up with the studio’s history and expertise, and not to read too much into it, but the official announcement today was certainly put onto a suspiciously specific shade of purple background.
