Ex-Activision Dev Mentions ‘The Crash 5 That Never Was’ and Now Fans Are Heartbroken

A former Activision developer has mentioned a Crash Bandicoot 5 that failed to materialize.

Nicholas Kole, who worked at once Activision-owned studio Toys for Bob as a character designer and illustrator for over three years on the likes of Spyro Reignited Trilogy and Crash Bandicoot 4, had tweeted about a separate project, codenamed Dragon, that was in the works at Dauntless and Fae Farm developer Phoenix Labs and was just weeks away from an early access launch before it was canceled.

Amid confusion that Kole’s tweets on Project Dragon related to an unannounced Spyro the Dragon project, the former Toys for Bob developer revealed that a Crash 5 game was once in the works but fell by the wayside.

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

Project Dragon and Crash 5 were “two totally separate canceled projects at two different studios,” Kole then clarified.

Kole has so far failed to offer any detail about this canceled Crash 5 project, perhaps understandably given the secrecy that surrounds video game projects and the non-disclosure agreements designed to keep them under wraps. But as Kole predicted in his tweet, Crash fans are already expressing disappointment that this new Crash game never saw the light of day.

CRASH 5?! pic.twitter.com/fyHCUdCq8L— Syp The Mighty ? (@sypsart) July 13, 2024

Hearing any sort of cancelled project news breaks my heart, but hearing about a cancelled Crash in particular stings harder than anything..— Matteomax (@Matteomax) July 14, 2024

There could have been a Crash 5? Noooooo pic.twitter.com/v0nqABdQIy— MrLautax (@MisterLautax) July 14, 2024

MY HEART
ITS BROKEN— adamangus2005 (@Adamangus2006) July 13, 2024

Toys for Bob’s own Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time remains the last mainline entry in the much-loved platformer series. It launched in October 2020 across PlayStation 4 and Xbox One before hitting other platforms in 2021. Toys for Bob’s online multiplayer spin-off, Crash Team Rumble, came out in 2023 but failed to find an audience, with a final content update released in March. It was Toys for Bob's final game produced as an Activision-owned studio before going independent in February 2024.

Despite this, the Crash franchise remains hugely popular. Only last month, Activision announced 2017’s Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy had sold an incredible 20 million units. You’d think, then, that Crash Bandicoot 5 would be something of a no-brainer, but so far, nothing.

What we do know is Toys for Bob has signed a deal with Activision owner Microsoft to publish its next game. This mysterious new game, which the company said will return it to its roots after a stint as a Call of Duty support studio, is still in "very early development." Could it be Crash 5? Only time will tell.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.