- Toys for Bob says Activision Blizzard did not reject studio’s decision to become independent again
- Study director Paul Yan says, “Leaders on both sides were very open to the idea.”
- Yan says the process was “complex” to navigate and plan at the same time. Spyro: a realm beyond
Spyro: a realm beyond Developer Toys for Bob has said there was no “rejection” from Activision Blizzard when it decided to go independent, but that the process was “complex.”
In 2024, a year after Microsoft officially acquired Activision Blizzard and almost 20 years after being purchased by the latter, Toys for Bob announced that it would separate from its parent company and return to its “roots” as an independent studio.
Now, during a Q&A with the press at Summer Game Fest 2026 as we promote Spyro: a realm beyondStudio head Paul Yan shared that the team didn’t encounter any resistance from Activision Blizzard or Microsoft and that “leadership on both sides was very open to the idea.”
“It was just complex,” Yan said, “because we were talking about navigating a lot of things in a very compressed amount of time, so the logistics and legalities of how to part ways with a company in that way had never been done before.”
“I’ve never done it before, so I’m asking for something that will require a lot of coordination between many teams, between two new organizations that either don’t even know each other,” he added, referring to Microsoft’s acquisition of the company, “or they just got married for the most part.”
“Meanwhile, we are also trying to find a pitch for this game. [Spyro: A Realm Beyond]so we’re trying to make all of that happen at the same time.”
Yan said this was “the biggest challenge” overall, and reiterated that no one was against Toys for Bob becoming independent again, although the process was something “we’ve never seen before.”
Associate creative director Lou Studdard added that it was difficult to navigate the process while also “preserving the continuity of the team’s experience” and ensuring it wasn’t “such a big culture shock for the studio.”
“It’s been a tremendous effort to make sure that about two years ago, and this was when we really started, it was like another day at the office in a good way, and that we are a continuously developing team that knows how to work with each other and focus on our projects,” Studdard said.
Spyro: a realm beyond is Toys for Bob’s first game since becoming an independent studio again and will be released in spring 2027 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
The best game consoles.
