The biggest news of 2022 is the shock acquisition of Activision by Microsoft. Franchises like Call of Duty and Diablo now fall under the Microsoft banner – and so does Crash Bandicoot. Given the resurgence of the franchise after 2020’s Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, could we see future games being Xbox console exclusives? We’ve got the lowdown on what this might mean for everyone’s favorite bandicoot.
Will Crash Bandicoot Be An Xbox Exclusive?
At the moment, we don’t know if future Crash Bandicoot games will be exclusive to Xbox consoles. The Microsoft-Activision deal is so new that these sort of details haven’t been ironed out yet. If we had to guess, though, don’t be surprised if Crash does become an Xbox console exclusive.
That’s based on the precedent set by Microsoft’s purchase of Bethesda back in 2021. Once that deal went through, they confirmed that the upcoming Bethesda RPG Starfield would be an Xbox console exclusive. Yes, the game isn’t even a timed exclusive, and won’t come to PlayStation consoles at any point. Given Microsoft wouldn’t want to boost their rival hardware developers, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they made most Activision titles exclusive.
However, the Crash Bandicoot franchise sits in a unique position due to its relationship with PlayStation. The first three games were developed by Naughty Dog, who went on to make Uncharted and The Last of Us. This original trilogy was also a PlayStation exclusive, as they came out before the first Xbox. Since then, Crash games have come out on both platforms. However, some games had PlayStation-exclusive content. 2019’s Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled had PS4-exclusive skins and even a track. Given the close ties between Sony and Crash Bandicoot, there could be a tug-of-war over future releases.
That said, we’ll have to wait and see what Microsoft say about future console exclusives. However, don’t be shocked if Crash soon becomes a marquee Xbox exclusive.
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