Spyro and Crash studio Toys For Bob has reportedly agreed to partner with Microsoft on its next game

Skylanders, Spyro and Crash Bandicoot developer Toys for Bob has reportedly reached an agreement with Microsoft for its next game.

The studio announced last month that it was leaving Activision Blizzard and becoming an independent studio, but it didn’t rule out working with Activision Blizzard‘s new owner Microsoft.

In their statement last month, studio heads Paul Yan and Avery Lodato said that despite the decision to go independent they were “exploring a possible partnership” with Microsoft.

This now appears to have been finalised, according to a report on Windows Central which claims Microsoft and Toys for Bob have reached an agreement on the latter’s next game.

According to the report, which cites sources familiar with a recent Xbox townhall meeting held for staff, Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty was asked what was happening with Toys with Bob.

Booty reportedly said that agreement had been reached with Toys for Bob for its first game as an independent studio, and while he didn’t confirm what the game would be, he did say it would “be similar to games Toys for Bob has made in the past”.

Toys for Bob was founded in 1989 and developed such games as Star Control, Pandemoniom and The Unholy War before it was acquired by Activision in 2005.

In recent years, the California studio has assisted with development on the Call of Duty series, but is best known as the studio behind the Skylanders series, as well as 2020’s Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time and 2018’s Spyro Reignited Trilogy.

Its most recent game was Crash Team Rumble, an online multiplayer “strategic platformer” which was released to a mixed reception from critics, with the PS5 version receiving a Metacritic score of 67.