Last month, a former artist at developer Toys for Bob claimed that Crash Bandicoot 5 was once in the works at the studio but Activision cancelled the project. According to a new deep dive into the fiasco surrounding the game’s strange cancellation, it’s claimed that the sequel was scrapped by the publisher after it pulled funds on single-player projects in favour of making more multiplayer live service games.
Gaming historian Liam Robertson from Did You Know Gaming recently released a video sharing alleged concept art from the cancelled Crash Bandicoot 5, which would’ve reportedly taken place in a school for villainous children. Several villains from previous Crash games would’ve returned. In one point, Robertson mentions that Crash would’ve also teamed up with Spyro the Dragon, marking the first time that both mascots have officially appeared together in their own game. “Crash and Spyro were intended to be the two playable characters,” said the report.
Sadly, this was only followed with bad news. Robertson claims that the game was in the very early stages of production – Toys for Bob had specifically set aside a team to work on the future of the franchise, which conceptualised Crash Bandicoot 5 – before Activision pulled the plug on it. It’s alleged that the project was cancelled because Activision wanted to focus on funding multiplayer live service games instead, leading to some single-player projects being scrapped.
Another project that was supposedly rejected by Activision was another Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater game. Back in May, it was claimed that Activision turned down a pitch for a remake of Pro Skater 3+4. With Activision’s focus on the Call of Duty franchise and several Blizzard IPs like Diablo and Overwatch, it makes sense that the company would want to focus more on its multiplayer live service games. However, most fans agree that it shouldn’t come at the expense of equally compelling single-player games either.
Watch the full report from Liam Robertson below for more details.
Source: Liam Robertson
