A huge new report from game historian Liam Robertson has dropped over the weekend, detailing apparent plans for a 'Crash Bandicoot 5' - and why Activision decided to go in a different direction instead. According to the report up above, the game was being conceptualised following the release of Crash 4, before ActiBlizz eventually pulled the plug to focus on other projects (thanks, VGC).
It's said that, ultimately, Activision wanted more live service projects in the pipeline - leading to the cancellation of Crash 5. When the project was being worked on at developer Toys for Bob, multiple different takes on the next mainline Crash title were being discussed, including one where the series crossed over with another famous ActiBlizz platformer: Spyro the Dragon.
In the end, we of course saw Crash Team Rumble come to market; a new multiplayer take on Crash Bandicoot. The development of CTR is also discussed in the report, which was apparently "long and arduous" for the Toys for Bob team.
Ultimately, we don't know what's next for gaming's favourite bandicoot, but it should be noted that this whole saga will have taken place before Xbox took over the Activision Blizzard studios. As for Team Green's plans for the famous mascot, who knows, but it seems unlikely we'll see a proper mainline Crash game anytime soon.