Xbox quietly bringing back beloved PS1 franchise, says insider

It seems like a beloved PS1 franchise is headed to Xbox, claims an industry insider.

While legendary 2D platform franchises such as Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog were immensely popular in the 1990s (and still are today), the genre began its major shift into 3D, pioneered by the likes of Crash Bandicoot, Banjo-Kazooie, Super Mario 64, and much more.

One other pioneering game was Spyro the Dragon, which was first released on the original PlayStation in 1998. The PS1 would also get two more exclusive sequels over the next two years, all of which were published by Sony.

However, in 2001, Spyro: Season of Ice was released on Nintendo’s handheld, Game Boy Advance. This would be the first game in the series to be released on a different console.

After that, the Spyro series became a multi-platform brand while it was handed over to different publishers and developers over the years.

The most recent release is Spyro Reignited Trilogy in 2018, developed by the current Crash Bandicoot studio, Toys for Bob and published by its new property owner, Activision.

Activision is now owned by Microsoft after the $69 billion acquisition was completed in 2023. This means that while remaining multiplatform, the likes of Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot and Spyro are all first-party Xbox titles.

Rumours of Spyro returning with a brand new game have been circulating the internet for years, but it looks like its unsurprising return could happen sooner than expected.

As picked by MyNintendoNews (via ZakkenKloot), a known industry insider and leaker of video game news, eXtas1stv has suggested that the new Spyro game could be revealed during the Xbox Games Showcase this Sunday.

ZakkenKloot teased the Spyro news in a recent video, about seven minutes into it. In the same breath, it was also claimed that the Psychonauts and Brutal Legend studio, Double Fine, might also have something new to reveal.

These reports are speculation at this time, so we should take them with a pinch of salt until proven otherwise. That being said, we should learn either way when the Xbox Games Showcase takes place on Sunday, 8 June, from 8pm, UK time.

As always, we’ll keep you posted when we learn more.