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It’s been another wild week for the video game industry and it looks like we’re not done yet. After massive layoffs at companies like PlayStation and Electronic Arts, we now have developers parting ways with their ownership groups.
In addition to this, Crash Bandicoot and Spyro developer Toys for Bob has announced that it will be leaving Activision and the Xbox team to become an independent studio. This follows reports of its facility closing, with 86 workers affected at the time following mass layoffs at Microsoft.
In a post on their official website, company directors Paul Yan and Avery Lodato revealed that Toys for Bob was already in the “early days” of developing their next new game, but they couldn’t share any announcements yet.
It is also mentioned how both Activision and Microsoft have been “very supportive” in this decision and plans to “explore a possible partnership with Microsoft” in the future and believes it will continue to work “closely” with both teams. Here is the full message:
We are delighted to announce that Toys for Bob will become a independent game development studio!
Over the years, we have inspired love, joy and laughter for every gamer’s inner child. We pioneered new IP and hardware technologies in Skylanders. We raise the bar for best-in-class remasters in Spyro Reignited Trilogy. We’ve taken Crash Bandicoot to innovative and critically acclaimed new heights.
With the same enthusiasm and passion, we believe that now is the time to take the studio and our future games to the next level. This opportunity allows us to return to our roots of being a small, agile studio.
To make this news even more exciting, we are exploring a possible partnership between our new studio and Microsoft. And while we’re in the early days of developing our next new game and are far from making any announcements, our team is excited to develop new stories, new characters, and new gaming experiences.
Our friends at Activision and Microsoft have been extremely supportive of our new direction and we are confident that we will continue to work closely together as part of our future.
So stay alert and stay tuned for more news. Thank you to our community of players for always supporting us on our journey. We can’t wait to share updates on our new adventure as an independent studio! Talk to you soon!
Over the past year, Toys for Bob has worked on Fight against team Crash and previously worked on games such as Crash Bandicoot 4 and Spyro Reignited Trilogy.
In other recent industry developments, Saber Interactive is reportedly splitting from Embracer and it looks like Gearbox Software could follow suit.