Sony has offered clarification on the status of the Crash Bandicoot franchise, confirming the much-loved platformer is still owned by publishing behemoth Activision.
Speaking on Twitter, Adam Boyes, Vice President of Publisher and Developer Relations for PlayStation, reiterated that the series is still very much in the hands of the Call of Duty publisher.
Note: Those of you who wish to avoid any spoilers regarding Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End should not read any further into this article.
Boyes’ comments come in light of speculation that the crate-bashing marsupial is making a comeback on an account of a rather interesting Easter Egg in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Players are able to play a brief level of the original Crash Bandicoot on Elena and Nate’s PSOne, and the game’s case also appears as a collectible.
Crash’s revival has been a hot topic in recent months. Shawn Layden of Sony Interactive Entertainment America (SIEA) rocked up at last year’s PlayStation Experience wearing a Crash t-shirt, and the former PlayStation mascot has turned up on a ‘Most Wanted’ list for PlayStation Middle-East.
Despite this, a new game continues to remain elusive, and given that Activision still owns the rights to the IP, will likely continue to remain a pipe dream for now.
Crash Bandicoot is the product of Naughty Dog and was released on the PSOne back in 1996, becoming Sony’s answer to Mario and Sonic. The California-based developer worked on two sequels and a racing spin-off before moving onto the Jak & Daxter series for PS2.
Since then, the franchise has been handed down to various studios to varying degrees of success.