Key findings
- Activision's decision to cancel Crash Bandicoot 5 was due to its focus on live service titles rather than single-player games.
- The sales figures of Crash 4 were considered disappointing, although the number of copies sold exceeded the five million mark.
- The canceled Crash 5 would have included a crossover with Spyro the Dragon, featuring returning villains and a multiversal adventure.
A new report claims that Toys For Bob's Crash Bandicoot 5 was canceled because Activision wanted the developer to focus on live service titles. Earlier this year Crash Bandicoot Fans had some disheartening news when a former employee who Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time revealed that a Crash 5 was in development at some point but was canceled behind the scenes.
The Crash Bandicoot Franchise has gone through many problems over the past two decades. After a turbulent period with games of mixed quality in the mid-2000s and early 2010s, the Crash Bandicoot Remake trilogy and Crash 4 were seen as a return to the old form. Crash 4 was notably seen as a great sequel to the classic platform franchise and was praised for its story and revitalization of the series' gameplay. Following this release, the franchise struggled to regain momentum following the release of Crash Team Rumble. Toys For Bob later parted ways with Activision in February 2024, which later led to the unveiling of Crash 5 canceled by Activision. The reason for this Crash 5 was recently discussed in a new report.
Related
Spyro, Crash Bandicoot Dev reaches agreement with Xbox for his new game
Toys For Bob, the studio behind the modern remakes of Spyro and Crash Bandicoot, has reached an agreement with Xbox to finance its new game.
In a new video by DidYouKnowGaming and Liam Robertson, he reported what happened behind the scenes at Toys For Bob and why Crash Bandicoot 5 was cancelled. According to Robertson, the development of Crash 5 was canceled early in development because sales were considered “disappointing”. Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time. Former Toys for Bob designer Tony Schadt revealed that Crash 4Sales were slightly better than expected, exceeding the five million unit mark, and it was a financial success. However, these numbers did not please Activision enough, which led to Crash 5 cancelled. Toys For Bob was subsequently commissioned to support its live service titles, such as Overwatch2 And Call of Duty: Warzone. The Crash Team Rumble The project was then released as a live service title, reusing assets from Crash 4.
Cancelled concepts for Crash 5
The concept behind the cancelled Crash 5 was also shared in this video, with the game supposed to be a direct sequel Crash 4. Concept art and story drafts show that the sequel will take place at the Academy of Evil Crash twin madness as the main setting and would have even featured a number of recurring villains such as N. Bryo. Another element included in this concept was Crash visiting the minds of these villains, such as Dr. Cortex, Pinstripe and Tiny Tiger.
The most ambitious element of this cancelled game was the potential of Crash Bandicoot Crossing with Spyro the Dragonthanks to the machinations of Uka Uka. This early element then became the backbone behind Crash 5which included various ways to make the two playable simultaneously or separately in a multiversal adventure. Unfortunately, these only existed as concept art before being cancelled, with Toys For Bob providing supporting work for Call of Duty and the development of Crash Team Rumble outsource.
Crash Bandicoot
The Crash Bandicoot franchise began in 1996 with the intention of being Sony's answer to Nintendo's Mario and Sega's Sonic. The series launched with three iconic platform games from Naughty Dog, as well as one of the best kart racing games of all time, Crash Team Racing.
The quality of the series has fluctuated since Naughty Dog left, but in recent years it seems to have regained its footing.
