Activision reportedly canceled a Crash Bandicoot 5 that also starred Spyro because it wanted more live-service games

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Activision didn't think Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time had sold well enough to garner a sequel

Split image with a goofy Crash Bandicoot (left) and a Spyro The Dragon running (right)
(Image credit: Microsoft)

A new report claims that Activision greenlit and canceled a single-player Crash Bandicoot 5 while it continued to chase more live-service games.

YouTuber and gaming historian Liam Robertson (Did You Know Gaming?) just released a new video report investigating what happened behind-the-scenes at developer Toys For Bob, where he alleges that a Crash Bandicoot 5 was in the early stages of development, but was soon scrapped based on what Activision considered to be underwhelming sales for Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time - which sold over five million copies, according to its design director Toby Schadt.

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Crash Bandicoot 5 was apparently set to be a direct sequel to Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, while alleged concept art and story concepts reveal that the sequel planned to reintroduce classic villains, possibly feature levels set within character's psyches, bring back elements from 2004's Crash Twinsanity, and even crossover with fellow platforming icon Spyro The Dragon. 

"Crash and Spyro were intended to be the two playable characters," the report claims, though it doesn't seem like Spyro would just be backpacking into Crash's solo adventure. It sounds like the two would essentially share the game, as both their worlds come under a multiversal threat. 

That version of Crash Bandicoot 5 was sadly canned around the same time as Activision's alleged cancelation of a single-player Tony Hawk Pro Skater game, while  Toys For Bob were then put to work on short-lived multiplayer spin-off Crash Team Rumble.

Toys For Bob have since become an independent studio following Microsoft's Activision Blizzard buyout and a round of brutal layoffs for the company, but it did recently announce it had signed a deal with its former owners at Xbox to develop a brand new game. A differently shaped follow-up to Crash or Spyro is definitely not impossible, then.

While we wait for new son that project, check out the best platformers available now.

Kaan Serin
Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.