Crash Bandicoot 4 took a bit of time coming to PC, not making it to the platform until five months after launch. When it showed up, however, it was confined to Battle.net alongside the vast majority of all Activision releases. When the game underperformed according to Activision, developer Toys for Bob was relegated to a Call of Duty support studio, putting in additional work for Warzone. Things looked grim for Crash. But with Microsoft acquiring Activision, the lovable marsupial seems to be getting a new lease on life, as Crash Bandicoot 4 is apparently breaking the trend and coming to Steam this month.
According to a mysterious box sent to press and influencers, Crash Bandicoot 4 will release on Steam on October 18. It’s almost like, if you’re not happy with sales, maybe you shouldn’t lock your game into a launcher that people might be reluctant to use compared to the de facto leader of the PC ecosystem. But this isn’t the only promising piece of news. Back in August, Toys for Bob teased that it was working on a new game. That game is likely Crash Bandicoot Wumpa League, which is rumored to make its first appearance at the upcoming The Game Awards.
Back from the dead
The most obvious clue to this is that the aforementioned press box that reads, “Hungry for more? Try our new Wumpa Pizza for $12.08.” In case you haven’t guessed already, The Game Awards are on December 8. Clever, clever. Personally, I’m happy with this potential reveal. Toys for Bob deserves to keep making great platformers instead of toiling in the background. I reviewed Crash Bandicoot 4 back when it launched on PC and was surprised by just how good of a job the developer did at recapturing the spirit of the first three Crash games — and even making them way harder.
