Crash Bandicoot Heads in a New and Unexpected Direction with Crash Team Rumble, Available for Pre-Order Today
Summary
- Crash Team Rumble sees heroes and villains from the Crash Bandicoot universe face off in a 4v4 team-based competition.
- Developer Toys For Bob talks about how they’re aiming for a fun, strategic, platforming game with cross-platform multiplayer supporting public and private matches.
- Crash Team Rumble is available for pre-order today on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S; includes access to the closed beta in April.
Crash Bandicoot crashed The Game Awards 2022 a few months ago literally by rappelling in from the rafters to reveal Crash Team Rumble, the next title starring everyone’s favorite marsupial. Details since then have been scarce, but that all changes today, with Toys For Bob revealing gameplay details, key upcoming dates, pre-order availability, and more!
Crash Team Rumble is a 4v4 team-based competition starring iconic heroes and villains from the Crash Bandicoot universe. Your goal is simple: collect more Wumpa fruit than your opponents. Working together with your team, you will dash, jump, slide, and bounce across a variety of locations to pick up and bank the most Wumpa fruit, capture key gems to boost your score, and block the opposing team from scoring.
The complete player roster is still a secret, but we do know that Crash Bandicoot, Coco, Tawna, Neo Cortex, and Dingodile will be in the starting lineup and available to try during a closed beta this April. Additionally, Lou Studdert, Associate Creative Director at Toys For Bob, shared with us that, “You can play as a hero or a villain, and you can have a mixture of as many heroes and villains as you want on your 4-person team. For example, you can have a team with three teammates playing Neo Cortex and one as Crash Bandicoot.”
Teamwork is essential to winning, and teams that select a balance of characters and work together will have the advantage. Each of the available heroes is exceptional at either being a Scorer (collect Wumpa and add it to your team’s Wumpa Bank), Blocker (defend your team’s Wumpa Bank and disrupt the other team from scoring), or Booster (capture gems to increase your team’s Wumpa score and activate Relic Stations to give your team an advantage).
In addition to these three roles, each character will also have their own stats including health, Wumpa carrying capacity, combat, and mobility. They will also have unique abilities and a special power that is available once your power meter is filled. If previous Crash Bandicoot games are any indication, you can expect to see plenty of slides, spins, slams, and more!
While developing each character, Toys For Bob wanted to strike a balance between competitive gameplay and the fun factor. Studdert explains, “We are constantly playing through the game, over and over again, testing out new ideas, finding the right balance and set-up. We always want to make sure that the end result is a game that is fun to play, with no character being better or stronger than another. We want the player to be able to select a character and have fun utilizing their selected character’s abilities in strategic ways to contribute to the team as a whole.”
He went on to say, “Part of the development process is coming up with new ideas and new abilities that complement the whole roster. Heroes have abilities that can help their teammates, however we elected to keep it broad and were careful to keep team composition flexible as possible for gamers.”
Another detail revealed by Toys For Bob addresses a multiplayer element important for this genre and style of team-based online game. “Crash Team Rumble is a competitive, strategic, multiplayer, platforming game that players can enjoy cross-platform. There will be public and private matches, so players can jump into a game with their friends or choose to find a game in the public lobby.”
Whether you’re new to the world of Crash Bandicoot or a longtime fan of the franchise, Studdert says the team is working on creating a game that appeals to everyone, regardless of their experience with previous Crash games. “When building the game, we wanted to first make sure it is approachable, so any player can jump in. We are acting as a welcoming point to players new to the franchise. And for Crash fans, we add additional layers to the game that feature deeper strategy for them to enjoy.”
Crash Team Rumble is set to release for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S on June 20, 2023, with pre-orders beginning today. Pre-ordering includes access to the closed beta, currently scheduled for April 20 to 24.
For more information about Crash Team Rumble, check out the official Crash Bandicoot site, and be sure to follow Crash Bandicoot on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok.
Crash Team Rumble™ – Standard Edition
Activision Publishing Inc.
Crash Team Rumble™ – Deluxe Edition
Activision Publishing Inc.