Xbox quietly cancelled sequel we waited years to see

Xbox has reportedly cancelled a sequel many would have loved to have seen but could it really be the last we’ll see of a certain lovable mascot?

So what is this cancelled sequel that the headline teases, I hear you ask? Well apparently, according to a developer at the studio Toys For Bob, the next entry in the legendary platformer series, Crash Bandicoot 5 has been cancelled.

Check out the Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time trailer below!

The news was confirmed on Twitter by a developer at Toys For Bob, Nicholas Kole, an animation and art specialist at the studio. It’s strange to think that Crash Bandicoot 5, is a franchise now owned by Microsoft following its acquisition of Activision Blizzard but all might not be what it seems.

“Our cancelled project of the last three years is officially, truly dead as of today (internal attempts to save it failed), and the embargo on the whole body of portfolio work has been lifted,” Kole tweeted. “RIP Project Dragon. Brace yourselves for the largest ever art bomb of work I loved.”

Fans soon latched on to the words “RIP Project Dragon” understandably believing that the cancelled project was a new Spyro the Dragon game before Kole later clarified the situation. “It is not Spyro, but someday, folks will hear about the Crash 5 that never was and it’s gonna break hearts,” Kole said when replying to a follower.

It is not Spyro, but some day folks will hear about the Crash 5 that never was and it’s gonna break hearts

— Nicholas Kole (@FromHappyRock) July 13, 2024

However, reading between the lines, I hope that there’s more to this story than we might initially assume, in particular when Kole said “Someday folks will hear about the Crash 5 that never was”. To me, this reads like there may be at least one other version of Crash Bandicoot 5, with the cancelled game being a version that never was.

In my opinion, there’s no way that Microsoft and Activision would want to kill the ever-popular Crash Bandicoot franchise. So perhaps, the people in charge weren't entirely happy with this version and decided to shift the focus elsewhere. But that’s pure speculation on my part or perhaps just wishful thinking.

It's unclear at this time whether the next entries in the Crash or Spyro series would be released on other platforms outside of Xbox due to the Activision aquistition. Hopefully, we’ll learn more in the coming months about the future of Crash Bandicoot as well as Spyro the Dragon.