Crash Bandicoot 5 was reportedly canceled due to Activision’s new focus on the live service model. Read on to learn more about Crash Bandicoot 5’s cancellation, its alleged cause, and what else Activision has done for the live service model.
Crash Bandicoot 5 Was Canceled Because of Live Service Games
Crash Bandicoot 4 Didn’t Do Well Enough for a Sequel
A new report from DidYouKnowGaming’s gaming historian, Liam Robertson, reveals that Crash Bandicoot 5 was in development at Skylanders developer Toys for Bob. Unfortunately, the project has reportedly been shelved due to Activision reallocating funds to prioritize its new live-service multiplayer model.
According to Robertson’s detailed report, Toys for Bob—widely credited with reviving the Crash Bandicoot series—had already assembled a small team to begin conceptualizing the series’ future under the working title Crash Bandicoot 5. This project was envisioned as a single-player 3D platformer and a direct sequel to Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time.
The report dove into the proposed story concepts and alleged development art for the unannounced game. The game was set in a school for villainous children and planned to feature returning antagonists from previous titles in the series.
One piece of concept art even depicted Spyro, another PlayStation icon revived by Toys for Bob, joining Crash in a battle against an interdimensional threat that endangered both their worlds. "Crash and Spyro were intended to be the two playable characters," Robertson revealed.
The first hint of a potential Crash Bandicoot sequel's cancellation came from Nicholas Kole, a former concept artist at Toys for Bob, who teased the news on X nearly a month ago. Now, Robertson's latest report suggests that Activision's decision to halt the development of Crash Bandicoot 5 may have been influenced not only by the shift towards live-service multiplayer games but also by the perceived underperformance of the previous title in the series.
Activision Shoots Down Pitches for Other Single-Player Sequels
It appears that Crash Bandicoot isn’t the only beloved franchise to face the chopping block amid Activision’s shifting priorities. According to another report by gaming historian Liam Robertson, a pitch for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4, a sequel to the successful Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 remake, was also rejected. Instead, Activision redirected Vicarious Visions, the studio behind the remakes, to work on the publisher's mainline franchises, including Call of Duty and Diablo.
Pro skater Tony Hawk himself provided insight into the situation in Robertson’s report, revealing that a second set of remakes was indeed in the pipeline until Vicarious Visions was fully absorbed by Activision. "That was the plan, even up until the release date of 1 and 2," Hawk explained. "We were doing 3 and 4, and then Vicarious got kind of absorbed, and then they were looking for other developers, and then it was over."
Hawk further elaborated on the decision, stating, "The truth of it is [Activision] were trying to find somebody to do 3 and 4, but they just didn’t really trust anyone the way they did Vicarious. So they took other pitches from other studios, like, ‘What would you do with the [Tony Hawk Pro Skater] title?’ And they didn’t like anything they heard, and then that was it."
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Crash Bandicoot 5 was cancelled in favour of live service games, it’s claimed
Crash Bandicoot artist claims a fifth game was cancelled
Activision rejected Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 in favour of supplementary Call of Duty work, it’s claimed
