Crash Bandicoot, Spyro Dev Toys for Bob Becomes Independent Studio, May Partner with Microsoft

A new original 3D platformer, but i'm all in for a new Spyro game even If i have yet to complete the Reignited Trilogy.

If they can get some IP to go with this new independence that would be great 👍🏻

(i hope the best for the company)

@somnambulance I highly doubt that - they never owned them in the first place.

This is kinda wild but if thats what they want then good for them - they are a very small studio now 😕

Some good news, for once.

If the Microsoft partnership doesn't go through. Sony should hire them to remake some of their platform games like Jak and sly.

So they left Microsoft to partner with ... Microsoft?

Next headline: Microsoft buys Toy's for Bob

Nice, if TfB are still in the 'remake' or 'remaster' mood they should partner with Sony for Jak & Daxter and Sly Cooper, or better yet, make new titles of the dormant IPs.

@somnambulance : Nope, both are still owned by Microsoft.

A way better outcome than getting closed down. At least the ABK merger ended up saving them in the end, they never should've been cast down into the CoD mines.

Rather you guys didn’t partner with Microsoft.
Don’t want to see Spyro and Crash go Xbox exclusive.
Keep the IP’s multi platform and partner with a company who can allow that

Toys for Bob was literally the only Activision thing I cared about (minus Sekiro). This might be the best game by industry news in a hot minute. Congrats to Toys For Bob for escaping the CoD Mines.

@Coolmusic
They would have to get the rights for Sly and Jak and Daxter would they definitely do need to make a comeback especially Sly.
He’s been stuck in Egypt for absolute years now

@belmont Yeah, this left me a little confused. And how exactly did they become independent?

@belmont Yeah, “Company Leaves it’s Owner Activision to Work for Activisions Owner Microsoft” isn’t exactly the Declaration of Independence of game making. 😂

@Dragoon1994 : Yeah they both need to make a comeback for sure.

A little unsure what rights you are referring to though. Sony owns both IPs. Yeah, Naughty Dog and Sucker Punch were the original devs of J&D and Sly respectively but they moved on while other developers have made new titles or ports. TfB could end up as another of those devs if Sony gives them a chance.

@jorel262 @rjejr @belmont I think they are doing all they can to survive. Can't be easy to keep a gaming studio afloat in 2024.

I mean, I'm glad because I really think this developer is talented and they won't have to do CoD stuff, but what the heck is Microsoft doing? I thought they'd consider TFB a good get and want to retain that talent.

Oh well, no bad news for me.

I feel like this was a case of the studio being closed due to layoffs; but they wanted to keep going themselves and convinced (financially? Or with exclusivity deals?) Xbox to let them keep their studio name.

@Dragoon1994 Spyro and Crash are already Xbox IPs; so it would be Xbox’s decision if their next instalments are multiplatform or exclusive.

@Coolmusic sly cooper remake? Gosh that is like a dream come true for me

It hurts me a little that Toys for Bob are only remembered now by most for Skylanders and remasters. To be fair those are pretty good but I wonder how many are aware their back catalog goes back much, much further than those.

Gamers of a certain vintage might remember the two Pandemonium games from the PSX era for instance. A modern take on those would be potentially interesting in the right hands. However the best thing they ever made (in my own opinion at least) was the Star Control series and specifically Star Control 2/Ur Quan Masters - a game so criminally underrated that you wouldn't be able to figure out why it gets so little love even if you put Batman, Sherlock Holmes and Poirot on the case.

So yeah, my vote would be to bring that back. The way the original developers intended.

@Americansamurai1 i would love to see a new Sly Cooper game. It would look insanely good on PS5 power. Such a cool character and hasn’t had a game in forever. Would buy it day one.

@HonestHick i feel the same way about sly
cooper as i do gears of war tbh, sly 1-3 trilogy is excellent , but theives in time was not good. they changed the writing of the characters which was off and butchered a favorite , the story was weak and didn’t have the balance of mature & lighthearted like the previous games , forgettable bosses except grizz( i think that’s his name?) & the weird cliffhanger ending . sly 3 had the perfect ending to the series

i haven’t played thieves in time in about 10 years & have only played it once, but i remember not enjoying it as much. but i still hope some sort of revival happens with the series, whatever it may be (as long as it’s a game)

I'd love for them to work on a Diablo 1 Resurrected or a new Spyro! I'd imagine Microsoft will allow them to work on Activision properties. I read this as them no longer being a CoD support team

Cool so they'd still rather screw over PlayStation and Nintendo fans even when they're independant.

@nomither6 thats a great point. Both Gears and Sly were best at 1-3. Man i miss those times in gaming. I would love to see a Gears of war collection. Would be great to see Sly get some love but i think Sony has moved on from those size games. I’d love to be wrong. But at least i still get Ratchet and Clank.

Going independent is great news. First this means that they aren't forced to make Call of Duty. Second, this partnership with Microsoft is most likely due to them still having new titles in the pipeline that Microsoft/Activation approved, so they can't exactly run off and make new games for other platforms just yet. This partnership also gives them the financial stability during the transition to independence... This also give them a bit more freedom and voice in saying what games can launch on which platform.

Third, this is great news for Microsoft cause now they aren't responsible for the health of the studio. If their next game sucks and doesn't sell causing more lay off and possible full studio closure. That wasn't Microsoft fault, that on studio leadership. Microsoft can simply wash their hands of the studio and move on... Cause lets be honest, Toy for bobs games don't exactly sell big number beside the Skylander stuff. Microsoft was probably number crunching and was wondering if it was worth keeping the studio around.

"We're going indie! time to get bought up by Microsoft!!"

I could see the partnership leading to them working on a new Spyro or Banjo. In my eyes, that's the reason for it in the first place.

But I'm curious to see what they can do as an indie studio.

This is FANTASTIC news! Now set Raven free!

With them being Indie now they can keep working on others IPs or go to any other publisher, make a new IP or do anything else. Good on them and being an Indie. If it works out well that is. Who knows.

Were they making a Spyro 4 probably not. Whatever the extent of Crash Rumble is too nowadays as well. Being away from Activision to work with Microsoft or any other publisher they want is fair. To get the chance to be more flexible then support studio all the time for COD or layoffs they can be flexible if things go a certain way. That's fair on those staff then layoffs they didn't need.

I can't recall a studio doing this though, being Indie but also still working with another parent company under certain terms. It makes sense though to be flexible and work with whatever publisher you want. New IP (hope so) or just same IPs but flexibility to work how they want I guess makes sense.

As sure with the Tony Hawk PS2 era they had Disney Skate Adventure and others, they made yes Skylanders or licensed games during ten besides their PC era Star Control with Accolade or Pandemonium published by Crystal Dynamics. Unholy War with Eidos, Majokko Daisakusen: Little Witching Mischiefs with Bandai then 102 Dalmations and other licensed games or COD from then on huh.

I find it funny people always go oh sweet make this game for me. Like Toys for Bob have the talent to make another 3D platformer or make games like that with certain nostaglic IPs I guess.

To me I don't care I want a new IP from them. Give them their flexibility not whatever games/characters people want to say back I couldn't care less.

There is plenty of Indie games like Banjo, like many others. I am not buying them but if people want to that's on them. I don't want to buy them because I'm sick to death of them the gameplay is so boring compared to other 5-7th gen platformers with ideas no one touches and we get the same generic worlds/gameplay refined movesets, boring.

I don't think Toys for Bob making a platformer for another studio's IP or another platformer that ends up pretty bland, nostalgic and tropey is a good idea. They have more talent and ideas they can come up with. They could make anything they want or just have flexibility from studios if that's all they really were after.

That and Microsoft money of budgets.

Tell me when a not oh we improved Mario 64 moveset Indie game comes out in the platforming space because to me I'm bored of them and will enjoy the left behind 5th/6th gen platformers, racing games and more then half the nostalgic games we get by Indies each year I will not buy.

Gameplay and level design over characters and eh worlds, eh NPCs, eh gameplay structure done to death I'm so bored of.

There is a reason I switched to other genres for modern gaming or backwards for some genres. Inspiration, what has been done before to know then top level repeated content by Indies.

@somnambulance they never owned them ? activation owns those ips.

@Herculean Sometimes doing all you can means a deal w/ the devil. I hope it works out for them.

What a good idea to partner with the company that freed them from the tyranny of Bobby Kotick by buying them for their IP and laying off the workers. Sounds "smart!"

It will be cool if they make full 3D Crash Bandicoot 5 with microsoft 😃

They won't b taking any ips , and for them working on spyro/crash games I can't see that happening , think of it from a business point of view ,why pay for a independent studio to do a spyro/crash game when Ur already paying lots of studios of which any of them could be set on crash/spyro ? ,it's a waste of money , and they wouldn't get full control like they would with thier own studios, I'd put money on the helping out on some games once they are independent but not what ppl think

@K1LLEGAL
Yeah true I forgot Microsoft bought Activision

@Coolmusic
True. SP don’t have the rights to Sly now though I don’t think since it was Sanzura Games that did Thieves in Time but they shut down.
Naughty Dog don’t seem to be bothered about J&K anymore they cancelled Jak 4 years ago and haven’t done anything since they went onto Uncharted

@belmont It's not hard to understand
Toys for Bob under Activision was basically COD support studio with occasional space to make their own games. By going independent they are basically waving goodbye to all COD work, but Microsoft can still pay for development of their new game on project basis. But they also can make something else alongside that project for Microsoft.