Amid mass layoffs, studio closures, and basic trade uncertainty, immediately started with a handful of studios and corporations reclaiming management of their very own destinies. We discovered this morning that Saber Interactive and Gearbox are reportedly breaking freed from Embracer Group. And now, it appears to be like like Crash Bandicoot developer Toys for Bob has sprung freed from Activision and Microsoft.
The studio introduced this information by way of a blog post today, stating that Toys for Bob could be spinning off into indie growth in an effort to return to its roots.
Through the years, we have impressed love, pleasure, and laughter for the inside baby in all players. We pioneered new IP and {hardware} applied sciences in Skylanders. We raised the bar for best-in-class remasters in Spyro Reignited Trilogy. We’ve taken Crash Bandicoot to modern, critically acclaimed new heights.
With the identical enthusiasm and keenness, we consider that now could be the time to take the studio and our future video games to the following stage. This chance permits us to return to our roots of being a small and nimble studio.
Whereas going unbiased would notable deprive Toys for Bob of its entry to the IPs its turn into identified for – Crash Bandicoot and Spyro particularly – it feels like there could be hope for these sequence in spite of everything. Toys for Bob goes on to state that it is at the moment exploring “a doable partnership between our new studio and Microsoft” and provides that each Microsoft and Activision are “extraordinarily supportive” of its new course. Whereas Toys for Bob’s first mission as an indie studio is outwardly “within the early days” nonetheless, it is doable this might bear fruit as a revival of Crash, Spyro, or one other IP that Toys for Bob has turn into identified and beloved for.
It isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. 86 staff had been let go earlier this 12 months as a part of broader cuts at Xbox, and its bodily studio in Novato, California has shut down. It is doable Toys for Bob’s transfer to unbiased growth was a part of a broader transfer to save lots of the studio long-term, and did not come with no heavy value.
Toys for Bob was first based approach again in 1989 as a joint effort between Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford. The 2 oversaw the studio by its growth of the Star Management sequence, and a handful of Disney licensed titles. Following a prolonged partnership with Crystal Dynamics, Toys for Bob was acquired by Activision in 2005 and went on to develop the Skylanders video games, the Spyro Reignited Trilogy, and Crash Bandicoot 4: It is About Time. Reiche and Ford left the studio in 2020, leaving Paul Yan and Avery Lodato in cost. Since then, Toys for Bob has largely labored as a help studio on a number of Name of Responsibility video games.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Received a narrative tip? Ship it to rvalentine@ign.com.