The first new Spyro game in over 20 years was officially revealed at the Xbox Games Showcase today. Developed by Toys for Bob, Spyro: A Realm Beyond sees the iconic purple dragon return in 2027, along with longtime Spyro voice actor Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants).
With it being a long time since Spyro officially headlined his very own game, Toys for Bob has chosen to age the dragon up a little, as well as give him free rein to fly amongst the clouds, not just glide through them or be constrained to a handful of flight levels. The studio is promising “true dragon flight” in A Realm Beyond, as well as “expanded exploration” and new gameplay in a “brand-new world.”
Spyro: A Realm Beyond is a big moment in the history of Toys for Bob, following the studio regaining its independence from Activision Blizzard back in February 2024. Shortly after it broke away, Toys for Bob announced later that year that it had struck a deal with Microsoft to develop a new game similar to what the studio had previously worked on in the past. The studio had dropped a big hint in its announcement post, as fans were told to “keep their horns on” regarding future announcements.
First introduced in 1998, Spyro’s first run on consoles saw the purple dragon star in several games and spin-offs, and the IP was eventually acquired by Activision in 2008 following its merger with Vivendi.
Now in the hands of Microsoft following its own acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Spyro games were later added to Xbox Game Pass. Lying dormant for a while, Spyro would return in the Skylanders series of toys-to-life games and would make a bigger splash in 2018’s Spyro Reignited Trilogy, remakes of the original games produced by Toys for Bob.
Since then, Spyro went back into hibernation, but with Activision reviving some of its old IP like the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series, it was only a matter of time before the popular purple dragon made another return.