For the past few months, we have seen the mighty hand of capitalism move over many industries. Because of the terrible actions of a few, many have seen cut benefits and job losses. Even when you would think acquistions would be a move to save companies, that turns out not to be the case. Look at Activision Blizzard. They lost nearly 2000 jobs after it was acquired by Microsoft. But at least one studio got out. Toys for Bob is going indie.
Joining the ranks of Saber Interactive, Toys for Bob is shedding the comforts of a parent company to strike it on their own. This development studio is known for making the fantastic Crash Bandicoot 4. That at least gives the studio some good footing.
The split was announced on February 29th.
Over the years, we’ve inspired love, joy, and laughter for the inner child in all gamers. We pioneered new IP and hardware technologies in Skylanders. We raised the bar for best-in-class remasters in Spyro Reignited Trilogy. We’ve taken Crash Bandicoot to innovative, critically acclaimed new heights.
With the same enthusiasm and passion, we believe that now is the time to take the studio and our future games to the next level. This opportunity allows us to return to our roots of being a small and nimble studio.”
Excerpt from Toys for Bob blog post
The sad thing is that this split would separate them from IPs like Crash Bandicoot and Spyro. Toys for Bob isn’t letting that slow them down, though. Even though it’s now an independent studio, it is also looking into “a possible partnership between our new studio and Microsoft.
Unfortunately, while this move will keep Toys for Bob from suffering additional cuts made by Microsoft, they already were hit during that initial 1,900 job cut. During that, Toys for Bob lost 86 employees.
Honestly, it’d be nice to see them extend a lifeline and bring those folks back.
Source: IGN
