Crash Bandicoot 5 Allegedly Canceled After Studio Went Indie

A former Toys For Bob concept artist, Nicholas Kole, recently hinted on X (formerly Twitter) that a Crash Bandicoot 5 was shelved. This revelation follows news of Kole's other canceled project, "Project Dragon," sparking fan speculation and disappointment.

"Project Dragon" and the Unreleased Crash 5

Kole's July 12th X post initially focused on "Project Dragon," a cancelled project unrelated to Spyro, as he clarified. However, he added a cryptic comment about a never-released Crash Bandicoot 5, predicting it would upset fans—a prediction that proved accurate. The response from fans was overwhelmingly negative, expressing significant disappointment at the prospect of a lost Crash title.

The news comes after Toys For Bob's transition to an independent studio following its separation from Activision Blizzard earlier this year, a time when Activision Blizzard was acquired by Microsoft. Interestingly, Toys For Bob is now collaborating with Microsoft Xbox for its first independent game, though details remain scarce.

The last mainline Crash Bandicoot game, Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, launched in 2020 and sold over five million copies. Subsequent releases included Crash Bandicoot: On the Run! (2021) and Crash Team Rumble (2023), the latter of which concluded its live service in March 2024.

With Toys For Bob now operating independently, the possibility of a future Crash Bandicoot 5 remains open. However, the recent revelation serves as a reminder of the often-unseen challenges in game development and the potential for highly anticipated projects to be cancelled. Only time will tell if fans will ever experience a fifth installment in the main Crash Bandicoot series.