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Spyro Collection or ‘Black Ops’? Activision has more remasters for 2018

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy - PS4 Gameplay Launch Trailer | E3 2017

Activision’s remastered games have recently been attracting just as much attention as the publisher’s brand-new releases. 2016 saw the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, and in early 2017 Crash Bandicoot fans were treated to the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. A certain purple dragon has been left out of the fun thus far, but it appears that this situation could be changing soon.

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In Activison’s annual financial report, the publisher revealed that it has “releases of remastered versions of titles from [its] library of IP” planned for 2018. The company owns a number of different franchises, including Call of Duty, and with Treyarch likely developing this year’s installment, a remastered version of Black Ops seems like the obvious choice.

However, the success of the N. Sane Trilogy — it has sold more than 2.5 million copies on PlayStation 4 — could convince Activision to give Spyro the Dragon a similar treatment. Originally developed by Insomniac Games, the first three games in the series appeared on the original PlayStation and offered an impressive world for users to explore. Its cartoony art direction and fun cast of characters make it great for all ages, and the popular Skylanders series began its life as a Spyro spin-off.

In mid-February, Kotaku reported that a Spyro trilogy remaster was in the works for PlayStation 4. The report stated that the collection would be announced in March, with a release possibly to come in September to coincide with the series’ 20th anniversary. It’s apparently in development at Vicarious Visions, a studio that also worked on the Skylanders series as well as the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy.

There are other possible games Activision or sister company Blizzard could be looking to remaster, though many don’t seem as likely. The BioShock-like Singularity was developed by the Activision subsidiary Raven Software, and received good reviews despite its soft sales. The rumor mill has also been swirling around potential news of a Warcraft III remaster following a new update to the original game. Given that it has been more than a decade since that game released, we’d much rather see a full-fledged Warcraft IV release this year instead.

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
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