Remember Spyro the Dragon, the lovable, purple-colored flying lizard that collected gems and spat fire? It’s been a minute since he’s had a brand-new game of his own, huh? Well, it seems that’s going to change, as developer Toys for Bob appears to be working on a new, mainline entry in the long-dormant platforming franchise.
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According to a March 27 video by YouTuber Canadian Guy Eh, who’s known for covering the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon series, Spyro 4 is in development. At the top of his nearly 10-minute video, he straight-up said this is truth. “No theory crafting, no evidence-based assumptions, no conspiracies, or even a heavy-handed hint,” he said. “Spyro 4 is in development, period.”
The YouTuber explained that while at PAX East, which took place in Boston from March 21-24, he heard whispers of a new Spyro game. He spoke to several people on the show floor, from creators to developers to journalists, who had similarly heard indications that Spyro is coming back with a brand-new game. Then, on March 23, Windows Central published a post about Toys for Bob striking a deal with Microsoft for their first game, leading Canadian Guy Eh to press his sources further on what they’ve heard about Toys for Bob and Spyro. It was then, he says, that he got confirmation Spyro 4 was in development.
“As of March 2024, Spyro 4 is currently in development,” Canadian Guy Eh says in the video. “It is being handled by Toys for Bob, and development started in and around January 2024. Because Toys for Bob has gone indie, they’re now free to work directly with Microsoft on projects without Activision’s bureaucracy and without the risk of being shifted onto other, larger Activision projects at the expense of their own,” he says, before making a not-so-subtle reference to Toys for Bob’s 2023 multiplayer game Crash Team Rumble.
Canadian Guy Eh clarified that, since development on Spyro 4 reportedly started around January 2024, it’s still in the early stages. As such, it’s possible that it could get delayed, canceled, shelved, or altered into something entirely new. “So, while I am vividly excited that a new Spyro game is currently in development, it is currently in a very delicate position,” he said. “Just because it’s being developed right now, it does not mean it will ever [be released].”
Kotaku has reached out to Microsoft and Toys for Bob for comment.
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The last mainline Spyro the Dragon game was 2008’s The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon, which was developed by the now-defunct French studio Étranges Libellules S.A. While Spyro headlined the first game in the popular Skylanders franchise in 2011, the Spyro series proper had been in hibernation for a decade when Toys for Bob remade the first three games for 2018’s Spyro Reignited Trilogy. If this report turns out to be true, then by the time Spyro 4 arrives, it’ll likely have been about 20 years since Spyro had seen a new title. I know a certain coworker of mine who will be really happy about this news.
