Crash Bandicoot's long-rumoured Wumpa League seemingly being teased for Game Awards reveal
And Crash 4 out on Steam this month.
It looks like the end of 2022 is going to have more than a whiff of Crash Bandicoot about it. Not only has Activision confirmed an 18th October Steam release date for the well-recieved Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, it seems the publisher might just be gearing up to unveil the long-rumoured Crash Bandicoot Wumpa League at this year's Game Awards.
All this news comes via a bit of promotional tat Activision has been sending out to influencers and press, taking the form of Crash-themed pizza box with goodies inside.
As detailed in a video by YouTuber Canadian Guy Eh (thanks Games Radar), the promotional pizza box in question comes emblazoned with the words 'Aku Aku's Steam-in Pizza Shack', a not too subtle hint that the formerly Battle.net-exclusive PC version of Crash Bandicoot 4 will (as fans had already surmised) soon be making its way to Valve's storefront. And to clear up any doubt, that's made explicit by an attached label confirming an 18th October Steam release.
However, far more intriguing is a seemingly innocuous message tucked away on the side of the pizza box, reading, "Hungry for more? Try our new wumpa pizza for $12.08!". At first glance, that could easily just be a fun bit of extraneous design detail, but, as a couple of smarty pants have noted, 12.08 - US shorthand for 8th December - also happens to be the day that this year's Geoff-Keighley hosted The Game Awards takes place.
That then suggests the sentence might deserve further scrutiny, with the word 'wumpa' looking particularly conspicuous in this new light. As it happens, a new Crash Bandicoot game titled Wumpa League has been rumoured for several years now, leading some to believe Activision might finally be teasing its long-awaited reveal.
We already know that developer Toys for Bob - the team behind 2017's Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy remaster and Crash Bandicoot 4 - has been dropping hints about a mysterious new project, suggested to be another Crash Bandicoot game by Windows Central. And earlier this year, the publication claimed a Crash-themed four-player brawler was on the way, but it remains to be seen if this is the same game Activision is now teasing.
All eyes on this year's Game Awards then, unless Activision is, in fact, entering into the pizza business and we've all been fooled.