Toys for Bob has enthused about its upcoming project with Xbox in a new interview, calling it a ‘big, ambitious’ project, while holding back on further reveals. Notably, this is the first major project from the studio since it became independent from Activision, although it hasn’t strayed too far from its roots, forging a partnership with Xbox for publishing.
Over the last year, the studio has stayed relatively quiet about what’s in the works, but various teasers and interviews delivered to date have hinted at something grand. At the time of its split from Activision, the studio pledged to continue inspiring “love, joy, and laughter for the inner child in all gamers” with its next project.
With the studio’s past games including bright new entries in the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon franchises, there’s been an assumption that the studio’s next project will be a sequel in a similar vein, treating the “inner child” of gamers who grew up in the 1990s.
Specifically, a potential Spyro the Dragon sequel has been talked about, with various clues being added together. That includes some harder facts, like that Crash Bandicoot has already received a worthy modern sequel from Toys for Bob, and that the Spyro Reignited Trilogy sold well enough (10 million copies as of late 2023) to guarantee interest in a new entry.
Read: Toys for Bob’s Xbox partnership sparks new Spyro rumours
In the aforementioned studio interview, published by Canadian Guy Eh on YouTube, another clue has been presented: the interview, delivered via email, was sent over in a Spyro shade of purple. This could simply be a cheeky nod to the ongoing rumours, but at this stage, it would feel odd to continue teasing something that won’t eventuate.
That said, Toys for Bob has teased yet another possibility for its next project in its latest interview. Asked which companies it would want to work with in future, the studio enthused about its ongoing partnership with Xbox, and said it would want to work on a Banjo-Kazooie sequel in future.
Given the wording, it’s unlikely this is actually the game being worked on currently – unless there’s some real subterfuge going on behind the scenes, paired with some tongue-in-cheek laughter – but it does certainly underline Toys for Bob’s ambitions.
Given its history with Crash and Spyro, it feels like the perfect studio to handle the legacy of the 1990s era of platforming games. Whether that means it’s actually working on a new Spyro, Crash, Banjo-Kazooie, or something like a spiritual successor, it’s certainly a studio to keep an eye on.
Something very cool is likely brewing at Toys for Bob. We’ll just have to be patient to see what exactly that is.
