Crash Bandicoot 4 dev Toys for Bob is now a Call of Duty: Warzone support studio
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time developer Toys for Bob has announced it will transition to offer development support on Call of Duty: Warzone. Accompanying the news are reports of high-profile departures from the studio, though Activision denies layoffs.
Toys for Bob’s official Twitter account posted an announcement earlier this week, saying the studio is “proud” to work on season three of the battle royale shooter.
Some high-profile developers have departed the studio in the wake of the announcement, though Activision denied in a statement to IGN that there have been any staff reductions. Character designer and illustrator Nicholas Kole, who is no longer employed by the studio, wrote on Twitter that “everyone I interfaced with and worked along was let go.
As Kotaku points out, this move also means that every single one of Activision’s internally owned development studios (discounting other arms of its parent company, like Blizzard and King) is now working in some capacity on a Call of Duty title.
What’s unclear in all this is whether the move is permanent and, if so, if it’ll impact Toys for Bob’s ability to develop its own, non–Call of Duty games. Will Crash Bandicoot 4, hailed as a glorious comeback for its star, now be the end of the series for the foreseeable future?
It may be telling that both Beenox and Raven Software transitioned to Call of Duty support and haven’t led development on a game outside the franchise since—for Raven, it’s been more than a decade. (Beenox did support development on another game, the Vicarious Visions–led Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2.)
The free-to-play Call of Duty: Warzone is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC.
