Crash Bandicoot is a video game franchise originally developed by Naughty Dog as an exclusive for Sony's PlayStation console. It has seen numerous installments created by various developers and published on multiple platforms. The series consists predominantly of platform games, but also includes spin-offs in the kart racing and party game genres. The series was originally produced by Universal Interactive, which later became known as Vivendi Games; in 2008, Vivendi merged with Activision, which currently owns and publishes the franchise.
The games are mostly set on the fictitious Wumpa Islands, an archipelago situated to the south of Australia where humans and mutant animals co-exist, although other locations are common. The protagonist of the series is a genetically enhanced bandicoot named Crash, whose quiet life on the Wumpa Islands is often interrupted by his creator and the games' main antagonist, Doctor Neo Cortex, who attempts to eliminate Crash as a constant hindrance to his plots for world domination.
Production of the new project began in October 1994.[7] To create the characters and setting, Naughty Dog contracted cartoonists Charles Zembillas and Joe Pearson.[3] The game's lead character was tentatively named "Willy the Wombat" and was envisioned as a goofy, Zorro-like Tasmanian marsupial.[8] The character would ultimately become a bandicoot for the species' appeal and relative obscurity.[9] During the game's alpha phase, Naughty Dog demonstrated the game to Sony Computer Entertainment to secure a publishing deal with them.[5]
1996–2000: PlayStation exclusivity
Crash Bandicoot was unveiled at E3 1996, where it quickly gained attention for its vibrant visuals.[8] The game was released on September 9, 1996,[10] and by the end of the year it sold over 1 million units worldwide.[11] The game's sequel, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, was released on November 6, 1997 and also performed strongly, selling 1 million units in the United States by February 1998.[12][13][14] The third game, Crash Bandicoot: Warped, was released on November 3, 1998,[15] and sold over 5.7 million units worldwide by 2002.[16]Crash Team Racing, a kart racing game, was released on October 19, 1999,[17] and sold 1.9million units in the United States.[18]
Crash Team Racing was the final Crash Bandicoot game developed by Naughty Dog; the developers, creatively exhausted and disenchanted with their lack of control over the Crash Bandicootintellectual property, began development on Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (2001); during the game's production, Sony acquired Naughty Dog, with Universal retaining the Crash Bandicoot property.[5][19]Crash Bash, a party video game developed by Eurocom, was the first game in the series made without Naughty Dog's involvement.[20] It was released on November 8, 2000, and was the final Crash Bandicoot game to be released exclusively for a Sony console.[21]
On March 23, 2005, Universal Interactive, now Vivendi Universal Games, acquired developer Radical Entertainment,[32] who released Crash Tag Team Racing on October 21.[33] Japanese developer Dimps released Crash Boom Bang! (titled Crash Bandicoot Festival in Japan) for the Nintendo DS in Japan on July 20, 2006, with a North American release in October.[34][35]
2007–2015: Redesign and hiatus
Radical Entertainment's next Crash Bandicoot title, Crash of the Titans, was released on October 2, 2007.[36]Crash of the Titans marked a departure from traditional platforming by introducing an emphasis on combat and a "jacking" mechanic in which Crash defeats and controls large mutants called Titans.[37] The characters were also redesigned with a "punk" edge to realign the characters into a unified style as well as make them more modern and distinct from other cartoon characters.[38] Handheld versions of the game for the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance were developed by Amaze Entertainment and released on the same date.[39][40][41] In December 2007, Activision announced its acquisition of Vivendi Games, including the Crash Bandicoot intellectual property, and the merger was finalized on July 10, 2008.[42][43] The mobile kart racing game Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D was released by Polarbit on April 29, 2008,[44][45] and Crash: Mind over Mutant was released by Radical Entertainment on October 7; a Nintendo DS version of the latter game was developed by Tose and released on the same date.[46][47] In February 2010, Activision laid off around 90 employees at Radical Entertainment, roughly half the studio's workforce, amid cost-cutting measures and project reevaluations.[48][49] Following the release of Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2 on May 27, 2010,[50] the series went into dormancy.[51]
2016–present: Revival
The revival of the Crash Bandicoot series began with the announcement of the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy at Sony's E3 2016 press conference.[52][53] The title was developed by Vicarious Visions as a remastered compilation of the original three PlayStation games with updated graphics, recreated controls, and new content.[54][55] The compilation launched exclusively on PlayStation 4 on June 30, 2017,[56] before expanding to the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows in 2018.[57] By June 2024, the N. Sane Trilogy had sold over 20 million units worldwide.[58]Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, a remastered version of Crash Team Racing, was developed by Beenox and released on June 19, 2019.[59] The game sold 10 million copies by June 2025.[60]
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, developed by Toys for Bob, was revealed on June 22, 2020 as a sequel to the original trilogy that returned to 3D platforming and featured new mechanics provided by the Quantum Masks.[61] The game was released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on October 2,[62] and for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch and Windows in 2021.[63][64]Crash Bandicoot: On the Run!, an endless runner developed by King, launched globally in March 2021 for Android and iOS,[65][66] and was discontinued on February 16, 2023.[67] Toys for Bob's Crash Team Rumble, a 4v4 multiplayer game, was released on June 20, 2023.[68] Following Toys for Bob's announcement of its impending spin-off from Activision,[69] content updates ceased after March 4, 2024.[70] A planned Crash Bandicoot 5 by Toys for Bob was canceled in favor of focus on live service games.[71]
Gameplay
Crash Bandicoot is primarily a platforming series. The goal of each level is to guide Crash from the beginning to the end, traveling either into the screen, towards the player or left and right in a side-scrolling manner. Several levels place Crash in unique situations which require the use of motorbikes, jet skis, submarines and various wild animals to complete the level. In the original Crash Bandicoot, Crash's move-set is rather limited; he can run, jump and spin his way through treacherous environments and hostile creatures. Cortex Strikes Back introduces several new moves for Crash to utilize, including a high jump, high spin jump, body slam and slide attack. Warped expands on this by awarding the player with new abilities after each boss is defeated, which was carried over to The Wrath of Cortex.
Wumpa fruit is the primary collectible throughout the franchise, with 100 fruits granting an extra life. By collecting Aku Aku masks, Crash can be protected from harm from most enemies and obstacles. Crash can collect up to two masks for two extra hits of damage, with an additional mask granting him temporary invincibility. When Crash collects two masks, Aku Aku will turn gold in most games; however, in Crash Twinsanity, Aku Aku will sparkle.[72] The other major recurring valuables Crash finds on his adventures include Gems and Crystals. Most Gems in the series are won by breaking open every crate in a level. Starting with Cortex Strikes Back, an additional five colored Gems can be obtained by completing special tasks or finding hidden areas. Crash Twinsanity contains six colored Gems per level, most of which are earned by solving a small puzzle. Crystals, which play a key role in the plot of most Crash games following Cortex Strikes Back, are usually required to make progress through most games. Relics, first introduced in Warped, are earned in Time Trial modes, with more valuable relics earned for higher times. In the original game, players can also obtain two keys after completing two Cortex bonus rounds, which are used to unlock two extra levels.
Crates have served as a foundational element since the original game. Basic wooden crates require a single spin attack to destroy and often contain Wumpa fruit. TNT crates detonate upon being spun into, but can be safely destroyed by jumping on top, which triggers a three second fuse.[72][73][74]Nitro crates explode immediately upon contact, requiring Crash to trigger a special crate to detonate them all simultaneously.[73][74]
The original Crash Bandicoot uses a fairly linear structure in which Crash clears through levels on a map, with some areas accessible by locating gems. Beginning with Cortex Strikes Back, the game usually takes place in a hub world called a Warp Room, with levels divided up into sets of five. To progress, the player must find and collect a Crystal within each of the stages, which can be played in any order, before facing the boss of each room. From Twinsanity onwards, the games took a more free-roaming approach, with Crash traveling various areas on foot.
Characters and setting
The Crash Bandicoot series is primarily set in a secluded archipelago 300 miles (480km) west of Tasmania. The islands encompass diverse biomes such as sandy beaches and snowy terrains, and are littered with the remnants of the lost continent of Lemuria. The largest island is the lair of the villainous mad scientistDoctor Neo Cortex.[75]Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back establishes that the islands' ancient civilization built a series of "Warp Rooms" providing instant access to areas all over the world.[76] The time traveling premise of Crash Bandicoot: Warped introduces prehistoric, medieval, and futuristic locales.[77]Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time explores branches of the multiverse, depicting parallel dimensions and alternate timelines.[78]
Crash Bandicoot is the central protagonist throughout the series. He is depicted as an anthropomorphic eastern barred bandicoot genetically engineered by Cortex in an attempt to create a general who would lead his minions to world domination, only to escape his creator's laboratory.[79][80] Crash is characterized as a goofy and non-verbal "accidental hero";[8][9] Josh Nadelberg, art director of Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, described Crash as "this dude who's always in the wrong place at the wrong time" who "just manages to get himself out of all these crazy situations in a heroic way, but he's not your classic hero".[81] Coco Bandicoot, Crash's tech-savvy younger sister, is a key ally and occasional playable character. Introduced in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back as a supporting character who uncovers Cortex's scheme,[82] her role expanded in subsequent entries, becoming playable in select levels of Crash Bandicoot: Warped and fully integrated across all games in the remastered trilogy.[56] Crash is protected and guided by Aku Aku, a floating wooden mask inhabited by the spirit of an ancient witch doctor.[83] Tawna, Crash's girlfriend and fellow lab subject, was the damsel in distress of the original game;[84]Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time features an alternate-universe variant of Tawna as a playable character.[85][86] Crunch Bandicoot, introduced in Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, is a muscular, genetically engineered bandicoot created by Cortex to destroy Crash,[87] but after his defeat, he defects to join the protagonists as an ally and playable character in subsequent titles.[88][89] The Quantum Masks − consisting of Lani-Loli, Akano, Kupuna-Wa and Ika-Ika − are a group of extra-dimensional masks who appear in Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time and can grant Crash and Coco special powers.[90]
Doctor Neo Cortex, the main antagonist of the series, is a mad scientist who seeks to achieve world domination through genetically enhanced soldiers.[84] He initially collaborated with Doctor Nitrus Brio, the inventor of the Evolvo-Ray used to mutate animals, but their partnership eventually soured.[82][84] Uka Uka, the evil twin brother of Aku Aku, is the malevolent overseer of Cortex's schemes. He was imprisoned underground by Aku Aku for his destructive pursuits until the wreckage of Cortex's space station inadvertently freed him.[87][91] Cortex's loyal henchman is Doctor N. Gin, an unhinged cyborg engineer who survived an accident that has left an unexploded missile in his head. Other minions of Cortex include Tiny Tiger, a hulking, savage thylacine, and Dingodile, a dingo-crocodile hybrid who wields a flamethrower.[82][87][92] Doctor Nefarious Tropy, a time-manipulating scientist, was introduced in Crash Bandicoot: Warped as a co-conspirator of Uka Uka and Cortex who created the Time Twister, enabling temporal excursions.[91] He returned as a primary antagonist in Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, partnering with Cortex to exploit space-time rifts for multiversal domination before teaming up with his female alternate-universe counterpart.[85]Crash Twinsanity introduced Cortex's niece Nina to the villain roster. She is equipped with bionic hands implanted by her uncle that can extend to grab faraway ledges.[93] She later appeared as a primary antagonist in Crash of the Titans.[94]
Other media
A short comic promoting Crash Team Racing was published in the Winter 2000 issue of Disney Adventures, written by Glenn Herdling and drawn by Neal Sternecky.[95]Strategy guides have been published by Dimension Publishing, Prima Games and BradyGames, some containing interviews and lore expansions.[96][97][98] In 2018, Dark Horse Books released the original developer's bible for Crash Bandicoot as a hardcover publication titled The Crash Bandicoot Files: How Willy the Wombat Sparked Marsupial Mania.[99] An official art book for Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, titled The Art of Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, was published on October 26, 2020.[100]
During the development of Crash Bandicoot, a pair of traditionally animated cutscenes were produced by Universal Animation Studios to serve as the game's intro and outro, as well as act as source material for a potential animated series if the game was well-received and commercially successful. The cutscenes were dropped after Sony Computer Entertainment picked up Crash Bandicoot for publication, as Sony desired to push the PlayStation's 3D polygonal graphics. The cutscenes were uploaded to YouTube by producer David Siller in 2015.[101][102] Crash is a recurring character in the animated series Skylanders Academy (2016–18), being transported from his own world into the world of Skylands. Unlike any of his other appearances, he speaks fluent English with an Australian accent, provided by showrunner Eric Rogers in the first season and by Rhys Darby in the third season.[103][104] In January 2021, alleged test footage of a canceled Crash Bandicoot animated series produced with Amazon Studios leaked online.[105] On October 27, 2025, Netflix was reported to be developing an animated series. WildBrain was initially reported to be involved with the project, but the statement was later debunked.[106]
Merchandise generated by the Crash Bandicoot franchise includes a line of action figures produced by Resaurus tying into Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back and Crash Bandicoot: Warped.[107] The N. Sane Trilogy was promoted with various shirts, keychains, and other types of merchandise officially licensed from Activision with Numskull Product Design.[108] Also tied to the N. Sane Trilogy was a series of vinyl figures by Funko, including retailer-specific variants of Crash and Cortex.[109] In June 2023, a Crash Bandicoot-themed cosmetics bundle promoting the release of Crash Team Rumble was added to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Warzone.[110]
The Crash Bandicoot series has been a commercial success. As of 2007, the series altogether has sold over 40 million units worldwide[156] and grossed over $1 billion.[157] According to Gamasutra, the first Crash Bandicoot game had sold 6.8 million units as of November 2003,[158] making it the tenth-best-selling PlayStation game of all time. Cortex Strikes Back sold 3.85 million units in the U.S.,[159] while Warped sold 3.74 million.[159] The last 2 games on the PlayStation console, Crash Team Racing and Crash Bash, sold 1.9 and 1.1 million units in the U.S., respectively.[159] According to a Sony press release, the first four titles had sold over 20 million units altogether worldwide by July 2000.[160]Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex has sold 1.56 million units in the U.S.[159]
On February 12, 2019, Activision announced in a press release for its "4th quarter and 2018 Financial Results", that N. Sane Trilogy has sold-in over 10 million units since its initial release in 2017.[161]
The Crash Bandicoot series is one of the few Western video game series to find blockbuster success in Japan. Cortex Strikes Back and Warped sold 1.3 and 1.4 million units in the country, respectively,[162] while the PlayStation 2 version of Wrath of Cortex sold 212,000 units.[163]
↑Dharn (October 22, 2007). "Crash Of The Titans". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). L'Odyssée Interactive. Archived from the original on October 24, 2007. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
↑Daniel Boutros (August 4, 2006). "Crash Bandicoot". A Detailed Cross-Examination of Yesterday and Today's Best-Selling Platform Games. p.6. Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
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