Toys for Bob separating from Activision Blizzard, going independent

On the company’s website, Toys for Bob, the developer behind Skylanders and Crash Bandicoot 4, has announced that it’s diverging from Activision Blizzard to become independent.

The post doesn’t really give much more in the way of details. It states that the company will return to being a “small and nimble studio.” They also state that, while they’re separating, they are looking into a “possible partnership” with Microsoft. Explaining, “Our friends at Activision and Microsoft have been extremely supportive of our new direction, and we’re confident that we will continue to work closely together as part of our future.”

That’s somewhat surprising, considering Toys for Bob was reportedly among those hit by the massive wave of Microsoft layoffs in the wake of the Activision Blizzard acquisition. Don’t burn any bridges, I suppose.

Toys for Bob says it’s in the early days of developing its next game and is looking forward to providing more updates.

This news comes shortly after the news that Saber Interactive and Gearbox are being sold off by Embracer Group. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic and even following that, we say a period of rapid acquisitions from companies like Sony, Microsoft, and Embracer. In the fallout of that, there have been a dizzying number of layoffs and studio closures, so seeing a developer spin-off on their own is almost refreshing.