Toys for Bob 'bought back' independence from Xbox to return to Spyro

Toys for Bob, the studio behind Skylanders that later co-developed Call of Duty under Xbox, left Microsoft to refocus on projects it cares about, studio head Paul Yan says.

Microsoft acquired parent company Activision Blizzard in a $69 billion deal in 2023, bringing Toys for Bob under Xbox. After years supporting Call of Duty, the studio struck a deal to go independent in 2024, and weeks later reached an agreement for Xbox to publish its next game, which this month was revealed as a new Spyro title.

Yan says the studio shifted into a support role for "large blockbuster IPs – Warzone, Modern Warfare, Overwatch 2" and learned a lot, but were "straying too far off from the types of games that we're passionate about." He adds the team asked to "buy back our independence and take back creative control" to return to franchises like Spyro and Crash Bandicoot.

Toys for Bob is now working on Spyro: A Realm Reborn, targeting spring 2027 on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Switch 2 and PC.

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