Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time and Spyro: Reignited Trilogy developer Toys for Bob has revealed that it's going independent, just months after being acquired alongside Activision by Microsoft.

We're only two months into 2024 and it's already been one of the most devastating years for the gaming industry, with layoffs that are almost at the same level as what we saw throughout the whole of 2023. One of the companies that has been impacted the most is Microsoft, which laid off 1,900 employees after merging with Activision Blizzard.

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A lot of studios that Microsoft had just acquired as part of its purchase of Activision Blizzard were affected, including Crash 4 and Spyro: Reignited Trilogy developer Toys for Bob, which was briefly rumoured to be going under completely after losing 40 percent of staff. Still, Crash and Spyro fans have been worried about the developers since then, which makes its recent announcement a rare bit of good news.

Over on its official website, Toys for Bob announced that it's going to become an independent studio. The statement reveals that Toys for Bob is going to "return to our roots" and become a "small and nimble studio" so that it can take its future games and the studio itself "to the next level" on its own terms.

The statement also reveals that Toys for Bob is currently "exploring" a possible partnership between the new studio and Microsoft, which presumably means working with one of its licenses. It's long been rumoured that the studio is working on a new Spyro game, which could be what the partnership is going to entail as the team likely started work on the project over the past few years.

"With the same enthusiasm and passion, we believe that now is the time to take the studio and our future games to the next level. This opportunity allows us to return to our roots of being a small and nimble studio."

Toys for Bob also confirmed that it's currently in the "early days" of developing its next new game, although it'll be some time before we end up hearing about it properly. The statement ends by saying "keep your horns on", which is, of course, being interpreted as some kind of hint towards a new Spyro game.

Only time will tell if that ends up happening and Toys for Bob ends up collaborating with Microsoft, but amidst all the layoff announcements and studio shutdowns, it's nice to see Toys for Bob taking control of its own future.

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