A new documentary about former Activision developer Toys for Bob revealed that a Crash Bandicoot 5 starring Spyro the Dragon was canceled by Activision.
The video, which Liam Robertson produced for Did You Know Gaming?, begins with a recap of the studio’s history through Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time. One of the most notable revelations from this part of the video is that Crash Bandicoot 4 started development as an asymmetrical multiplayer game codenamed Lava and referred to as Wumpa League. After creating some single-player tutorial levels for Wumpa League, the team pivoted to creating a single-player adventure. It developed Crash Bandicoot 4 in just 18 months, working on Wumpa League on and off alongside it.
Toys for Bob considered releasing Wumpa League around a year after the launch of Crash Bandicoot 4 as a free update for that game with microtransactions. In 2020, Toys for Bob also created a pitch for a Crash Bandicoot 5 that would’ve been a direct sequel to It’s About Time, reintroduced elements from Crash Twinsanity like the Academy of Evil, and featured Uka Uka as the main villain. It also would’ve taken inspiration from Psychonauts, with Crash entering the minds of villains like Neo Cortex, Pinstripe, and Tiny Tiger for some of its levels.
Most importantly, it would’ve crossed over with Spyro the Dragon. Uka Uka would use a portal to travel to Spyro’s universe and corrupt some of its Dragon Elders. Crash and Coco would eventually make their way over to this dimension, befriend Spyro, and work together to stop Uka Uka. Sadly, this AAA Crash and Spyro 3D platforming crossover wouldn’t make it past pre-production because Crash Bandicoot 4 did not meet Activision’s high sales targets, as the publisher was hoping for sales comparable to Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy.
Crash Bandicoot 5 was canceled in November 2020. Around the same time, production on the Wumpa League version of Lava also halted, although Toys for Bob tried reimagining it a few different ways. First was a multiplayer platforming starring World of Warcraft characters, but Blizzard shot down the idea. Then, it morphed into a new IP pitch called Monster Mechs, which Activision rejected. Toys for Bob was then put on support duty for Call of Duty: Warzone and Overwatch 2, but many developers left the studio, were let go, or had their contracts terminated.
By the end of 2021, Toys for Bob had revived Project Lava. This would ultimately become Crash Team Rumble, a scaled-back version of the concept that mostly reused assets from Crash Bandicoot 4 and was heavily outsourced. Spyro would come to Crash Team Rumble in its third season, which also featured banners that used Crash Bandicoot 5 concept art. Following Microsoft layoffs in January 2024 that impacted its newly acquired Activision studios, a fourth season of Crash Team Rumble and a new IP using Unreal Engine 5 were canceled. Toys for Bob’s leadership then negotiated with Microsoft to become an independent studio that would make a game Xbox would publish, and that’s where this documentary concludes.
The video goes into a lot more detail, so check it out if you are interested in everything that has happened at Toys for Bob over the past decade.
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