Crash Bandicoot will cameo in Astro Bot despite Microsoft’s Activision acquisition

Crash Bandicoot will cameo as a ‘VIP bot’ in Astro Bot, despite Microsoft now owning Activision Blizzard.

According to a new interview on thePlayStation Blog Crash, alongside other characters with “cartoony” features such as the apes from Ape Escape, will wear masks over their heads as the robot-style head of Astro didn’t work in terms of design.

“Sometimes LED eyes just didn’t work on certain characters because the original design relies so much on the pupils being a certain size or color for instance,” said Team Asobi’s studio director Nicolas Doucet.

“So for more cartoony VIPs like Crash Bandicoot or from Ape Escape, the Bots are wearing a mask to help bridge that problem.”

Crash’s inclusion will be a welcome one for some players, due to his status as an iconic character in the PlayStation‘s earliest days. Prior to this confirmation, it had been speculated that including the character could have potentially been a challenge due to his new ownership.

Sony had previously negotiated a Crash cameo in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, in which Drake and Elena play through the first level of Crash Bandicoot on an original PlayStation.

In another interview, Doucet ruled out the possibility of a PlayStation VR2 version, but has kept hopes alive for a PC port.

Astro Bot will be released on September 6. An Astro Bot-themed DualSense will also be released next week, alongside the game.

An Astro Bot-themed gacha machine will also appear as part of PlayStation’s TGS booth.