In his communicated, which obviously does not reveal the details of this separation and does not mention the layoffs attributed to it, Toys for Bob expresses its enthusiasm at the idea of returning to its roots as a free-as-the-air studio, without denying the interesting things he was able to experience at Activision. Toys for Bob was even one of the group's most prominent studios at the time of the “video toy” frenzy of which it was the great architect with the juicy Skylanders franchise. A saga part of an old PlayStation icon, Spyro, of which Toys for Bob then took care of the trilogy of remasters. Brought to do the work for Call of Duty Warzone, Toys for Bob quickly found the mascots with Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time and Crash Team Rumble, anecdotal multiplayer spin off which will also receive its final update day March 4.
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It's a long story
Toys for Bob's history extends well beyond its 19 years as an Activision studio. Founded in 1989 by Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford, the studio first gave birth to the Star Control franchise, the property of which was also the subject of a complex series until finding a honeyed outcome in June 2019. Toys for Bob is responsible for games that you may have played in the 90s without paying attention to the name of the studio which was hidden under the Eidos and Crystal Dynamics labels. These include the action/strategy game The Horde (3DO) and its FMV cutscenes, the platform game Pandemonium (PS1) with its two playable characters (PlayStation) and the tactical combat game The Unholy War (PS1) delivered with its demo playable Soul Reaver.
Before crossing the desert in the early 2000s with a few commissioned products for Disney, Toys for Bob released the most incongruous game in its catalog in 1999: Majokko Daisakusen: Little Witching Mischiefsan action-RPG commissioned by Bandai released only in Japan and which brings together heroines from different series magical girl. The game is actually considered a sort of Japanese version of The Unholy War.
Now free and still led by Avery Lodato and Paul Yan since the departure of the founders in 2020, Toys for Bob will have to call on the creativity of its beginnings to find a place in the world of independent studios. Not sure the studio needs to launch into a new license right away, however, as the press release indicates that Toys for Bob is in discussions with Microsoft for a partnership. There aren't a few mascots waiting on Rare's side, by any chance?