A fifth Crash Bandicoot game was canceled, former Toys for Bob artist claims

by Danny Craig  · 
A fifth Crash Bandicoot game was canceled, former Toys for Bob artist claims
Activision

Nicholas Kole, a concept artist with credits on Spyro Reignited Trilogy and Crash Bandicoot 4, has claimed that Crash Bandicoot 5 was in the works at one point.

The details:

  • Kole announced in a post to X that "Project Dragon," a new IP developed at Phoenix Labs, had been officially canceled after three years. He also clarified that the title was unrelated to Spyro after a number of fans linked the codename to the platforming franchise, but he also appeared to confirm that Crash 5 was in development at some point. "It is not Spyro, but some day folks will hear about the Crash 5 that never was and it's gonna break hearts," said Kole.

  • In another response, Kole explained that Crash 5 and Project Dragon were "two totally separate canceled projects at two different studios." The unnamed Crash 5 developer was most likely Toys for Bob, which had created the fourth numbered entry before leaving Activision to go independent.

  • Although Toys for Bob went independent, it recently announced a partnership with Microsoft, Activision's parent company, to publish a new game through Xbox Game Studios. Due to the studio's relationship with Microsoft, some fans remain hopeful that it will return to Crash or Spyro in the future, as it was originally transferred to work on Call of Duty's Warzone mode prior to the split.

  • Kole has since revealed that Project Dragon was a "cosy sandbox survival crafting multiplayer RPG" inspired by Minecraft and Zelda: Breath of the Wild. In the thread, the artist shared a number of game concepts, assets, and even a music track, with the game most likely canned as part of Phoenix Labs’ recent mass layoffs and project cancellations.

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