The orange marsupial might finally be making a proper comeback. Hot on the heels of the Spyro: A Realm Beyond reveal at the Xbox Games Showcase, the same insider who accurately predicted that announcement is now claiming a new Crash Bandicoot game is also in development under Xbox. The catch? It won't be shown off anytime soon. This is the kind of leak that sits in the back of your mind for months.
The leaker, known online as No Arms and No Legs, stated the new Crash Bandicoot title is "scheduled too, but will not be unveiled for the moment." Given that this same source called the Spyro revival before it was officially announced, there's genuine reason to take the claim seriously rather than dismiss it as noise.
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The franchise gap that made this feel inevitable
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time launched in October 2020 and sold over 5 million copies, a number that should have greenlit a sequel without hesitation. Instead, Activision reportedly canceled what would have been Crash Bandicoot 5, a game that was reportedly planned to include a Spyro crossover, citing underwhelming sales performance. Five million copies apparently wasn't enough.
Since then, the franchise has limped along on the margins. Crash Bandicoot: On the Run! arrived as a mobile endless runner in 2021, and Crash Team Rumble, a multiplayer spin-off, launched in 2023. Neither scratched the itch for a real, single-player platformer adventure. That gap has been sitting wide open for nearly six years now.
Toys for Bob as the most likely developer
Here's the thing: the most obvious candidate to develop a new Crash Bandicoot game is Toys for Bob. The studio built Crash Bandicoot 4 and Crash Team Rumble before going independent and signing a publishing deal with Xbox. They already have the institutional knowledge, the engine experience, and the character relationships to hit the ground running.
If Toys for Bob is indeed handling both Spyro: A Realm Beyond and a new Crash Bandicoot, the sequencing makes sense. Spyro gets announced and ships first, then Crash follows. The studio previously had plans for a Spyro and Crash crossover that never materialized under Activision, so there's even a chance that concept gets revisited under different ownership.
What this means for Xbox's platformer problem
Xbox has historically had almost nothing to compete with Nintendo's Mario or Sony's Ratchet & Clank and Astro Bot in the family-friendly 3D platformer space. That's been a real weakness for the platform, especially as adventure games have proven to be some of the most commercially durable titles in gaming.
The Activision Blizzard King acquisition handed Xbox two of the most recognizable platformer mascots from the 1990s. Using both of them would directly address a gap that has existed for the entire Xbox platform's history. It also carries a certain irony: Crash and Spyro both launched as PlayStation exclusives back in the day, and now they could become cornerstones of the Xbox first-party lineup.
Toys for Bob leads the charge
The timing and what comes next
With Spyro: A Realm Beyond just revealed and clearly not yet released, a new Crash Bandicoot announcement is likely still at least a year away, possibly more. The leaker's phrasing of "will not be unveiled for the moment" suggests this is early-stage or that Xbox is deliberately pacing its reveals to avoid cannibalizing attention from the Spyro launch.
The platformer revival happening at Xbox right now is genuinely interesting to watch. Nintendo just dropped Donkey Kong Bananza as a heavy-hitter in the genre, and if Xbox responds with both a new Spyro and a new Crash Bandicoot within the next couple of years, the competition in the 3D platformer space is about to get significantly more interesting than it's been in a long time.
Keep an eye on future Xbox showcases. If No Arms and No Legs' track record holds, the orange bandicoot's proper return is a matter of when, not if.
