Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, and Skylanders developer is reportedly making a game with former owner Xbox shortly after going indie

Toys For Bob has reportedly signed a deal with its former corporate owners at Microsoft, only a few weeks after finding independence.

The studio has been responsible for Skylanders, the most recent Spyro The Dragon remakes, and Crash Bandicoot 4, but publisher Activision then strangely put most of the team to work supporting its hefty Call of Duty Warzone efforts. 

Once Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard and all the studios under that umbrella, layoffs followed shortly after with around 86 people losing their jobs at Toys For Bob. After so much corporate turmoil, Toys For Bob recently announced that it was splitting from its parent company and going independent. 

At the time, the studio announced that it was "exploring a possible partnership" with former owner Microsoft, and now, a new report from Windows Central now claims that an agreement for a new game has been signed, according to people familiar with a recent townhall meeting. Going independent only to work with the previous owners is a slightly odd move, but the report notes that Toys For Bob's management supposedly didn't connect with Activision's corporate structure. 

Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty apparently noted that Toys For Bob is working on something similar to its previous work, which probably means it's a colorful platformer featuring a loveable mascot. 

New Spyro or Crash Bandicoot games are certainly the safest bets since the studio obviously has experience with both stars and Xbox still owns both series. Some fans have been speculating (or hoping) that a Banjo-Kazooie revival could be on the cards since that's another long-dormant, Xbox-owned mascot who could use a fancy remake collection. But that's all speculation and there's no official word on what exactly Toys For Bob will be working on for now. 

Read up on the new games of 2024 to catch up on everything coming in the next year and beyond. 

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