Finally, the 'coot is out of the bag. After a series of leaks that all but solidified its existence, publisher Activision has formally announced that Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time will arrive October 2nd, 2020 for Xbox One and PS4. Additionally, an Xbox Series X version is in the works, but no release date has been set.
As previously reported, the game is being developed by one of Activision's internal studios, Toys for Bob, who had previously worked on the Switch port for 2017's Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy.
What we know is that Crash Bandicoot 4 follows the events of the original trilogy, which concluded way back in 1998 with Crash Bandicoot: Warped.
In a recent interview with USGamer, the game's design producer, Lou Studdert, explains that the team is "not just continuing the storyline from where it left off, but also using the original trilogies’ gameplay kind of as our inspiration and as our base."
"After the original trilogy, the franchise diverted a bit to more open-world exploration type things. For us, what we wanted to do was go back to what we found really lovable and are just huge fans of with the original trilogy."
Though heavily inspired by the Crash Bandicoot games of yesteryear, this next iteration isn't simply resting on previous laurels. Crash 4 will introduce an assortment of new gameplay mechanics - such as wall-running, rope-swinging, and rail-grinding - that allow the Bandicoot to benefit from the last 20 years of platforming innovations.