Activision says Toys For Bob ‘will continue to support’ Crash 4, denies layoffs

Activision has denied claims that Crash Bandicoot 4 studio Toys For Bob has suffered layoffs, and said it will continue to support the platformer alongside its new role on Call of Duty.

Last week the Novato, California-based developer – which also made 2018’s Spyro Reignited Trilogy – confirmed it would be supporting the development of Call of Duty: Warzone.

This led to one former contract character designer claiming that they had left the studio, along with “everyone” they had worked alongside at Toys For Bob.

However, speaking to VGC an Activision spokesperson denied Toys For Bob had suffered layoffs and claimed its development team was “fully operational”.

The studio will continue to support Crash Bandicoot 4 in addition to providing support for Warzone, the spokesperson claimed.

“Reports of layoffs at Toys For Bob are incorrect,” they said. “There has not been a reduction in personnel recently at the studio. The development team is operating fully and has a number of full-time job openings at this time.

“The studio is excited to continue supporting Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, and more recently provide additional development support to Call of Duty: Warzone.”

Crash Bandicoot 4 released last October for last-gen consoles, followed by next-gen consoles, Switch and PC in March this year. To date, no major DLC has been confirmed for the platformer, but Toys For Bob’s continued support could suggest additional content is in the pipeline.

The PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of Crash 4 feature 4K visuals at 60 FPS, quicker loading times and 3D audio.

Activision has previously said it considers Crash Bandicoot as one of its most important franchises. However, with the huge growth of Call of Duty: Warzone since its launch last year, the company is seemingly pushing resources to support the franchise.

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Virtually every Activision studio is now working on the Call of Duty series, and Warzone studio Raven Software recently told VGC it was “hiring like crazy” to support the battle royale game.

“We have jobs posted all over the place and we’re looking for new talent,” said creative director Amos Hodge. “If any of your readers out there are interested… we have more ideas than we can do!

“Warzone was a smash hit success,” he continued. “All the studios are helping on it, but it’s also additional to our normal Call of Duty schedule. We have a normal Call of Duty schedule and this is on top of that, so we’ve had to grow really fast.”