Cancelled Crash 5 And Spyro Crossover Detailed

New details about the rumored Crash Bandicoot 5 have now surfaced online, and they are truly amazing.

To start, the details come by way of a new video from YouTube channel “DidYouKnowGaming,” which detailed the concept for Crash 5, including a proposed crossover with Spyro the Dragon, as well as the shortcomings of Crash Team Rumble, among other details. It’s a truly fascinating video, ripe with information and testimony from developers that make it well worth the watch.

Crash 5 Had Two Concepts In The Works

As revealed in the video, Crash Bandicoot 5 had two separate concepts in the works prior to its cancelation. The first concept would see Crash return to the Academy of Evil, a famous location from Crash Twinsanity. Those plot elements from Twinsanity would be explored again, per the reveal, with the larger segments of the Academy of Evil serving as a hub world of sorts.

The faculty of this nefarious school would be previous Crash villains, and the game would have taken cues from Psychonauts by allowing Crash to explore the innermost turmoil of his enemies via a journey through their minds. For example, Pinstripe would return, and Crash would go through a 1930s-era gangster level while exploring his past.

Eventually, though, those ideas expanded greatly and shifted into a potential collaboration with Spyro. In that concept, Uka Uka would be the antagonist, and via an interdimensional portal, the worlds of Crash and Spyro would cross over. The two video game mascots would join forces to take down Uka Uka, with both characters being playable.

Additionally, it was revealed that there would be team-up moves, such as Crash riding Spyro or Spyro carrying Crash. Apparently, it would have been a darker sequel with an emphasis on exploring the lore of both universes.

So What The Heck Happened?

Unfortunately, Crash 5 never went past its pre-production state. According to the video, sales for Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time are to blame.

That’s because prior to Crash 4’s release, the first three Crash games got a re-release via the N. Sane Trilogy. To date, that collection has topped over 20 million in global sales. However, Crash 4 did not experience that same level of success.

For reference, Crash 4 sold 402,000 digital units over its first month of release. The N. Sane Trilogy topped 520,000 units in just one day on the market. That simply wasn’t good enough in the eyes of Activision, and so the project was shelved in favor of multiplayer Games As A Service (GAAS) titles.

That leads us to where we are at now, with no Crash 5 and certainly no Spyro sequel, either. Perhaps one day these concepts can be revisited, as they truly are unique and would have brought both series into the modern age. However, until then, all we have is the concepts by some really creative folks.