A new documentary about former Activision developerToys for Bobrevealed that aCrash Bandicoot 5starring 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 throughCrash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time. One of the most notable revelations from this part of the video is thatCrash Bandicoot 4started development as an asymmetrical multiplayer game codenamedLavaand referred to asWumpa League. After creating some single-player tutorial levels forWumpa League, the team pivoted to creating a single-player adventure. It developedCrash Bandicoot 4in just 18 months, working onWumpa Leagueon and off alongside it.
Toys for Bob considered releasingWumpa Leaguearound a year after the launch ofCrash Bandicoot 4as a free update for that game with microtransactions. In 2020, Toys for Bob also created a pitch for aCrash Bandicoot 5that would’ve been a direct sequel toIt’s About Time, reintroduced elements fromCrash Twinsanitylike the Academy of Evil, and featured Uka Uka as the main villain. It also would’ve taken inspiration fromPsychonauts, 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 becauseCrash Bandicoot 4did not meet Activision’s high sales targets, as the publisher was hoping for sales comparable toCrash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy.
Crash Bandicoot 5was canceled in November 2020. Around the same time, production on theWumpa Leagueversion ofLavaalso halted, although Toys for Bob tried reimagining it a few different ways. First was a multiplayer platforming starringWorld of Warcraftcharacters, but Blizzard shot down the idea. Then, it morphed into a new IP pitch calledMonster Mechs, which Activision rejected. Toys for Bob was then put onsupport duty forCall of Duty: WarzoneandOverwatch 2, but many developers left the studio, were let go, or had their contracts terminated.
By the end of 2021, Toys for Bob had revivedProject Lava. This would ultimately becomeCrash Team Rumble, a scaled-back version of the concept that mostly reused assets fromCrash Bandicoot 4and was heavily outsourced. Spyro would come toCrash Team Rumblein its third season, which also featured banners that usedCrash Bandicoot 5concept art. FollowingMicrosoft layoffs in January 2024that impacted its newly acquired Activision studios, a fourth season ofCrash Team Rumbleand 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 gameXbox 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.
