Spyro developer Toys for Bob has formally confirmed its next game will be published by Xbox, in a teasing statement that ends with a decidedly purple-coloured heart emoji.

Toys for Bob was previously part of the now-Microsoft-owned Activision Blizzard, and made its name making Skylanders, then working on the Crash and Spyro trilogy releases.

But more recent years saw it pulled into work on Call of Duty as a support developer, and earlier this year it lost 89 staff members as a part of Microsoft's wider layoffs of 1900 staff.

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Toys for Bob - the Activision Blizzard studio behind the likes of Skylanders, Crash Bandicoot 4, and the Spyro remasters - has announced it's parting ways with Activision to become an independent company once more. It also says it's "exploring a possible partnership" with Microsoft as development on its new game gets underway.

Toys for Bob, which was founded back in 1989, formed a publishing partnership with Activision in the 2000s that would lead to the studio's acquisition by the publisher in 2005. Toys for Bob has been part of Activision Blizzard ever since, initially working on the hugely popular toys-to-life Skylanders series before developing 2018 remaster Spyro Reignited Trilogy and 2020's well-received Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time. Since then, it's served as a support studio for Call of Duty while also releasing last year's Crash Team Rumble.

Earlier this month, following Microsoft's $69bn acquisition of Activision Blizzard and subsequent decision to lay off 1,900 workers across its Xbox teams, it was confirmed 86 Toys for Bob employees had lost their jobs. It was also reported the studio's physical office would be shutting down and that remaining staff would transition to working from home. And it's in this context that Toys for Bob has now announced it's splitting from Activision to go independent.

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As the video games industry violently contracts to ensure shareholder satisfaction at the cost of making thousands upon thousands of people unemployed, Skylanders studio Toys For Bob have announced they're splitting from Activision Blizzard and Microsoft to go independent. Good for them, but maybe too late for some. Earlier this month, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that it seemed Activision Blizzard were closing Toys For Bob's California headquarters and laying off 86 people. Still, the new independent Toys For Bob say they're working on something new and "exploring a possible partnership" with Microsoft.

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Amid mass layoffs, studio closures, and general industry uncertainty, today began with a handful of studios and companies reclaiming control of their own destinies. We learned this morning that Saber Interactive and Gearbox are reportedly breaking free of Embracer Group. And now, it looks like Crash Bandicoot developer Toys …