Toys for Bob, the developer of Crash Bandicoot 4 and Crash Group Rumble, is formally unbiased of Activision and Microsoft. Regardless of the break up, the studio hasn’t dominated out working with these firms sooner or later.
Crash Bandicoot developer Toys for Bob splits from Activision after 19 years
Toys for Bob’s separation from Activision goes into impact immediately, February 29. The divorce additionally seems to be an amicable one, in response to the studio’s official assertion. “Our mates at Activision and Microsoft have been extraordinarily supportive of our new route, and we’re assured that we’ll proceed to work carefully collectively as a part of our future,” Toys for Bob wrote. The corporate, which closed its bodily workplace earlier this month, additionally says it’s exploring a attainable partnership with Microsoft, which acquired Crash Bandicoot writer Activision final yr.
If this partnership works out, it might imply that Toys for Bob isn’t accomplished with the Crash Bandicoot sequence. Sadly, the corporate’s assertion didn’t element its future plans, however it guarantees to offer extra updates quickly.
Based by Paul Reiche and Fred Ford in 1989, Toys for Bob launched its first recreation, Star Management, in 1990. A long time later, it developed the Skylanders sequence, launched from 2011 to 2016. It later launched the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy and Spyro Reignited Trilogy earlier than launching Crash Bandicoot 4 in 2020. Its final recreation as the first developer was 2023’s Crash Group Rumble, although it additionally assisted on Trendy Warfare III.
Whereas Toys for Bob’s relationship with Activision lasted virtually 20 years, the studio expressed pleasure for its new alternatives. “With the identical enthusiasm and keenness,” it says, “we imagine that now’s the time to take the studio and our future video games to the subsequent stage. This chance permits us to return to our roots of being a small and nimble studio.”