As the gaming mascots of millennial childhood have been resuscitated one by one for a nostalgic audience, one has remained notably absent: 1990s PlayStation hero Spyro. A new game starring the purple dragon was announced at tonight\u2019s Xbox Game Showcase \u2013 the first original title since 2008. Called Spyro: Realms Beyond, it is being developed by studio Toys for Bob in California and will be released in spring 2027 on Xbox, PlayStation 5, PC and Nintendo Switch 2.<\/p>\n
It features a freshly redesigned Spyro with his trademark quiff, voiced by Tom Kenny, the original star of the games. Unlike in the original Spyro titles, players will be able to take flight at any time. \u201c[We\u2019re] leaning into the true capabilities of being a dragon,\u201d explains creative director Lou Studdert. \u201cIt\u2019s really engaging \u2026 the player is making decisions how they fly. They are diving down to sustain speed. They are using fire-breath to light campfires, to create an updraft to get lift before flapping their wings.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Spyro\u2019s original developer in the 1990s was Insomniac Games (currently working on Marvel\u2019s Wolverine under Sony). Fellow Californian development studio Toys for Bob made the well-received Spyro Reignited Trilogy remaster in 2018<\/a>, as well as the popular 2010s toy-and-game series Skylanders, which started as a Spyro spin-off, under Activision. It has since become an independent studio, and longtime boss Paul Yan said he is enthused to return to the kinds of welcoming, whimsical games that the developer is \u201cmost passionate about, and that were best known for\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are games that are positive, optimistic, joyful experiences that are developed and centred around colourful characters in handcrafted worlds,\u201d said Yan, \u201cand we like developing games for broad audiences\u2026 games that appeal to the inner child in in all gamers.\u201d<\/p>\n