Activision started teasing a new Crash Bandicoot game earlier this week by sending puzzles to press outlets that feature what looks like a new mask character (a prominent feature of the series), but now the Taiwan Digital Game Rating Committee has rated this game, and it turns out it’s an actual numbered installment called Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, and will be a new platformer along the lines of the original PlayStation games.
Based on the rating, it looks like the game will be coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One (and by extension, will be playable on next-gen consoles), and will involve some time travel antics. The name. It has layers. Also according to the rating, the game is in development over at Toys for Bob, which assisted with development of the Crash and Spyro remakes, as well as worked on the Skylanders series from 2011 to 2016.
Here’s the plot synopsis for Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time that was part of the rating:
Crash is relaxing and exploring his island in his time, 1998, when he finds a mysterious mask hidden away in a cave, Lani-Loli. The mask is one of the Quantum Masks and apparently knows Aku-Aku, Crash’s mask friend! With the Quantum Masks returning and a Quantum Rift appearing near our heroes, they decide to bravely head through to different times and dimensions to stop whoever is responsible.
The listing also included a box art for PS4 and Xbox One:
In other news:
- Insomniac Compares Spider-Man: Miles Morales to Uncharted: Lost Legacy in Scope
- New Pokemon Snap Steals the Show During Today’s Pokemon Presents
- Star Wars: Squadrons Puts the Focus Back on the Damn Spaceships
The Crash Bandicoot series went quiet for a pretty long time in 2010, with the last game in the series being a mobile kart racer called Crash Bandicoot: Nitro Kart 2. After that, nothing came out of the series after that until 2017, when Vicarious Visions developed a remake of the original three games as the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, which launched on PlayStation 4 as a timed exclusive, then came to PC, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch the following year. Last year, Beenox developed a remake of the PlayStation kart racer Crash Team Racing titled Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled, so clearly Activision is seeing some returns on its investments in the series, as it’s now creating new games instead of remaking old ones.
Now the question is whether or not Spyro will be getting new mainline games in the future. There are a few continuities happening in that series, but since Crash seems to be picking up where the original games left off, maybe that means Spyro could too? The Skylanders games have basically gone away now, so hopefully we see something along the lines of the games in the Spyro: Reignited Trilogy soon.
Even with new games on the way, Activision said back in February that remakes and remasters are still a core part of its business, thanks in no small part to the success of the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon remakes.
