Spyro Rumored to be Playable in Canceled Crash Bandicoot 5

Crash Bandicoot 5 Would've Had Spyro As Playable Character

Crash Bandicoot 5 was reportedly canceled due to Activision’s new focus on the live service model. Read on to learn more about Crash Bandicoot 5’s cancellation, its alleged cause, and what else Activision has done for the live service model.

Crash Bandicoot 5 Was Canceled Because of Live Service GamesCrash Bandicoot 4 Didn’t Do Well Enough for a Sequel

A new report from DidYouKnowGaming’s gaming historian, Liam Robertson, reveals that Crash Bandicoot 5 was in development at Skylanders developer Toys for Bob. Unfortunately, the project has reportedly been shelved due to Activision reallocating funds to prioritize its new live-service multiplayer model.

According to Robertson’s detailed report, Toys for Bob—widely credited with reviving the Crash Bandicoot series—had already assembled a small team to begin conceptualizing the series’ future under the working title Crash Bandicoot 5. This project was envisioned as a single-player 3D platformer and a direct sequel to Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time.

Crash Bandicoot 5 Would've Had Spyro As Playable Character

The report delved into the proposed narrative concepts and purported development artwork for the unannounced title. The title was set in an academy for villainous youths and intended to showcase recurring adversaries from prior installments in the franchise.

One piece of conceptual artwork even portrayed Spyro, another PlayStation icon revitalized by Toys for Bob, uniting with Crash in a conflict against an interdimensional menace that imperiled both their realms. "Crash and Spyro were slated to be the two playable characters," Robertson disclosed.

The initial indication of a potential Crash Bandicoot sequel's termination originated from Nicholas Kole, a former conceptual artist at Toys for Bob, who hinted at the news on X approximately a month prior. Presently, Robertson's most recent report implies that Activision's choice to halt the development of Crash Bandicoot 5 may have been influenced not only by the transition towards live-service multiplayer titles but also by the perceived underperformance of the preceding title in the franchise.

Activision Dismisses Pitches for Additional Single-Player Sequels

Crash Bandicoot 5 Would've Had Spyro As Playable Character

It appears that Crash Bandicoot isn’t the only beloved franchise to face the chopping block amid Activision’s shifting priorities. According to another report by gaming historian Liam Robertson, a pitch for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4, a sequel to the successful Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 remake, was also rejected. Instead, Activision redirected Vicarious Visions, the studio behind the remakes, to work on the publisher's mainline franchises, including Call of Duty and Diablo.

Pro skater Tony Hawk himself provided insight into the situation in Robertson’s report, revealing that a second set of remakes was indeed in the pipeline until Vicarious Visions was fully absorbed by Activision. "That was the plan, even up until the release date of 1 and 2," Hawk explained. "We were doing 3 and 4, and then Vicarious got kind of absorbed, and then they were looking for other developers, and then it was over."

Crash Bandicoot 5 Would've Had Spyro As Playable Character

Hawk further elaborated on the decision, stating, "The truth of it is [Activision] were endeavoring to find somebody to do 3 and 4, but they just didn’t truly trust anyone the way they did Vicarious. So they took other proposals from other studios, like, ‘What would you do with the [Tony Hawk Pro Skater] title?’ And they didn’t favor anything they heard, and then that was it."