Microsoft has announced they are acquiring Activision Blizzard for nearly $70 billion to bring joy and community of gaming to everyone across platforms and will provide building blocks for the metaverse. IPs include “Warcraft,” “Diablo,” “Overwatch,” “Call of Duty” and “Candy Crush,”. We can safely assume including "Spyro the Dragon", "Skylanders" and "Crash Bandicoot", but currently there are mixed reception about the planned acquisition.

https://news.microsoft.com/2022/01/18/mi...ry-device/

Quote:With three billion people actively playing games today and fueled by a new generation steeped in the joys of interactive entertainment, gaming is now the largest and fastest-growing form of entertainment. Today, Microsoft Corp. announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard Inc., a leader in game development and interactive entertainment content publisher. This acquisition will accelerate the growth in Microsoft’s gaming business across mobile, PC, console and cloud and will provide building blocks for the metaverse.

When the transaction closes, Microsoft will become the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony. The planned acquisition includes iconic franchises from the Activision, Blizzard and King studios like “Warcraft,” “Diablo,” “Overwatch,” “Call of Duty” and “Candy Crush,” in addition to global eSports activities through Major League Gaming. The company has studios around the word with nearly 10,000 employees.

“Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms,” said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft. “We’re investing deeply in world-class content, community and the cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive and accessible to all.”

Xbox CEO Phil Spencer expresses interest in bringing back old games from Activision Blizzard's vaults as a result of the merger.

center Wrote:The games created by Activision Blizzard’s developers provide the centerpiece of Microsoft’s strategic thinking around the acquisition. The titles are some of the most popular in the world. And those Activision Blizzard properties extend well beyond Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush.

In discussing some of the intellectual properties owned by Activision Blizzard, Spencer’s excitement may have mirrored the enthusiasm of a “StarCraft” player noticing the long-dormant franchise’s logo in Microsoft’s acquisition announcement.

“I was looking at the IP list, I mean, let’s go!” Spencer said. “ ‘King’s Quest,’ ‘Guitar Hero,’ … I should know this but I think they got ‘HeXen.’ ”

“HeXen,” indeed an Activision Blizzard property, is a cult hit first-person game about using magic spells. Microsoft’s pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard also means owning the rights to many creations from gaming’s past, including Crash Bandicoot, the original Sony PlayStation mascot. There’s also the influential and popular Tony Hawk skateboard series and beloved characters like Spyro the Dragon.

Toys for Bob, one of the studios working under the Activision Blizzard banner, successfully launched games like “Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time,” but was later folded into supporting Call of Duty games. Spencer said the Xbox team will talk with developers about working on a variety of franchises from the Activision Blizzard vaults.

“We’re hoping that we’ll be able to work with them when the deal closes to make sure we have resources to work on franchises that I love from my childhood, and that the teams really want to get,” Spencer said. “I’m looking forward to these conversations. I really think it’s about adding resources and increasing capability.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-gam...l-spencer/

The game developer, Com2Us, announced that Skylanders: Ring of Heroes will stop its services on February 28th, 2022.

Com2Us Wrote:Greetings Portal Masters,

We would like to thank all our players and communities for all their incredible support for the game, and let you know that, with a heavy heart, as of “Feb. 28th, 2022, KST”, the game will no longer be in service. 
As a part of the termination procedure, all in-game packages will be removed on “Dec. 30th, 2021, KST”, but players can continue to play and use their currencies/items in the game until the termination date. 
Refunds will be available for those who have the paid currencies left in their accounts for a certain duration after the termination. 

For more details, please refer to below dates.

1. Service Termination: 02/28/2022 KST

2. In-app Purchase & Download Disable Dates
a. 12/30/2021 KST: In-app Purchase Disable (All packages in the in-game shop will be removed)
b. 2/28/2022 KST: Market Download Disable (App will be removed from the app store)
※ Based on above schedule, In-App Purchase will be disabled, but downloading from the App Stores will be available until the service termination date.

3. Refund Schedule
(1) Dates for Refund Request: 3/1/2022 ~ 4/30/2022 KST
(2) Refund Policy
- Remaining “Paid” currencies as of service termination
* Non-refundable subjects
a. In-game currencies that are given through events, push rewards, in-game play, etc
b. Items that were purchased with the currencies
c. Refund request outside the above-mentioned dates
(3) What you will need to provide for the refund inquiry
a. HIVE ID
b. CS CODE
c. Market (IOS/AD)
i. If Android, your Google email is needed

For any other inquiries, please contact us through http://www.withhive.com Customer Support channels.

Thank you for your wonderful memories.

New press release on the upcoming Season 3 event of Crash: On The Run has been revealed: 

Press Release Wrote:

Spyro-themed Season 3: Battle of the Dragons Launches June 10 in Crash Bandicoot: On the Run!

The legendary purple dragon returns to the Crash Bandicoot franchise in the latest seasonal update to new mobile game, Crash Bandicoot: On the Run!

It’s about to get hot in here! King, a leading interactive entertainment company for the mobile world, today announced that Season 3: Battle of the Dragons for Crash Bandicoot: On the Run! will be launching on June 10, 4am PT. The latest season features the beloved purple dragon Spyro and two of his most notorious enemies, Dark Spyro and Gnasty Gnorc. Crash Bandicoot: On the Run! introduces a whole host of scorching new content with its latest season, that features a new land to explore, new minions to defeat, exclusive rewards and skins to earn, and new bosses to vanquish.

In Season 2, N. Tropy was banished and left open a portal to the Dragon Realm, letting in the dastardly Dark Spyro and Gnasty Gnorc – who have since taken over three Spyro-themed lands. The much loved hero soon followed, but the portal to the Dragon Realm was broken in the process. It’s now up to Crash and Coco to defeat Dark Spyro and Gnasty Gnorc and help Spyro repair the Dragon Portal.

Season 3: Battle of the Dragons adds a 12th land called Upstream, which contains four battle runs, a collection run, one time trial and two challenge runs. Upstream debuted in the original Crash Bandicoot from 1996. In addition to the Dark Spyro and Gnasty Gnorc bosses, players will also be able to battle N. Gin and Koala Kong. Players can also complete new weekly missions to earn trophies, compete on the new seasonal leaderboard and complete the Bandicoot Pass to earn exclusive skins and rewards.

In Crash Bandicoot: On the Run! players run, spin, swipe and smash their way through mysterious lands, defeating the henchmen of Dr. Neo Cortex who has dispatched iconic villains across the multiverse. With the help of his sister Coco, Crash must bash Cortex's minions back to their own dimensions! The game offers an un-fur-gettable gameplay experience, with a variety of running challenges and exciting features that add depth and progression to the game including time trials, collection runs, base building and crafting. The game will also be updated regularly with new cosmetic items, classic and creative new skins, and much more during regular seasonal updates.

The Wumpa Archipelago is vast and fans of the Crash Bandicoot franchise will immediately recognize memorable regions from previous Crash Bandicoot games, such as Temple Ruins, Turtle Woods, The Lost City, The Lab and more. Classic enemies and bosses, including Scorporilla, Nitrus Brio and Fake Crash will try to thwart Crash’s progress in a brand-new adventure that gamers can play on the go.

In King's Crash On The Run mobile game, Spyro and Crash will once again meet in a new season game event for Season 3! Users from King's COTR community reveals the banner for the upcoming Season 3 event, which features Dark Spyro as the game's seasonal boss. Gnasty Gnorc will also be joining in!

Google Play store has already updated their icon for the game's upcoming season event, which will start on Thursday June 10th 12PM BST!

Quote:Spyro is trapped in our realm and it's up to us to help him return to his dimension. Unlock special rewards, new skins and gain access to exclusive challenges and runs.

Full patch details!

https://community.king.com/en/crash-on-t...-40#latest

Several years ago I reached to Jared Pullen, the lead concept artist at Krome Studios of The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning and The Eternal Night about Cynder the Dragon and how she came to be:

Screenshot version

Jared Pullen Wrote:Cynder was one of those rare opportunities to create a female villain character that was both unique and fresh design wise, but also felt as if she had been a part of the Spyro mythology for quite some time. She certainly seems to have resonated with so many Spyro fans out there, whether that's from her Gothic design sensibilities or the fact that she has an interesting back story in terms of her origin, I'm not entirely sure.... but whatever the case she definitely is a compelling character within the realm of Spyro, and has pretty much become a mainstay within it.

Nowadays where there's Spyro, there's Cynder it seems.... and it gives no end of satisfaction to have played a part in it, however small that was The real credit for Cynder's design must go to the very talented Mr Bruno Rime, who was my lead at the time and overall Art Lead on the first Legend Of Spyro
title. The story called for 'a powerful and shadowy dark Dragon' to be Spyro's nemesis for the first installment of TLOS trilogy, beyond that no specification was given and the starting point was very loose. It was Bruno who determined that this villain be female and a Black Dragon at that too... as the Dragon villains previously fought in the earlier Spyro titles were generally red coloured.

For both Bruno and myself from the get go presence was paramount, and the Black Dragon Maleficent from the old Disney flick 'Sleeping Beauty' had that in spades. It was a wonderful reference for us in terms of her lithe, sinuous form, which we adopted for Cynder's overall body structure... but pretty soon Bruno was exploring Gothic overtones in keeping with the visual cues of the environment that Cynder was first encountered in (Concurrent Skies.) The platinum jewelry was evident as a personal touch for the 'evil' version of Cynder and served to signify her as both feminine and regal, but also gave the impressions of servitude... as if the decoration about her throat was less a necklace and more a manacle, indicating her enslavement to the Dark Master's thrall. We later went on to call her a 'Midnight Dragon' owing to this Gothic nature, and all the design work was handled by Bruno. There were about 3 or 4 iterations on her design from memory, as Bruno had a strong vision for who Cynder was visually. She took him a week to create once he'd sat down to handle it, in addition to his Art Lead duties.

Where I came in was purely in an 'advisory' capacity.... and by advisory I just mean I was Bruno's 'second eye' to just run over the design and see what I thought. Naturally I loved it from the start... and with much respect for Bruno, he is one talented visual creator I did however get to name her, as for most of the game Cynder was referred to as 'The Anti-Spyro' and her baboon inspired minions were known as 'Anti-Spyro Soldiers'... we knew that the game couldn't ship with those names in place. So we ran an internal competition at both Krome Studios and Vivendi Universal (for that was their name at time of publishing. Now branded Activision) and after about 3 weeks I found out that I had won Its pretty humbling to have named one of video gaming's most memorable characters, so it's something that is special to me

Michael Graham Wrote:“We had a lot of discussion around the best way to treat both Spyro and Cynder throughout the early stages of development.  First and foremost, it was important for us to establish a brand new universe that could introduce a plethora of new heroes, but we also wanted to honor the history of Spyro and Cynder.  The end of the “Legend” series left both of them in a place that was open to interpretation.  Were they in some sort of dragon heaven?  Were they in Skylands?  Were they back in their own world?  It was purposely left mysterious to allow us the freedom to reintroduce these characters in a way that was very fitting for the world of Skylands – while also leaving it to longtime fans, such as yourself, to use your own imaginations to fill in the blanks.  Spyro’s world has always been a world full of imagination – and ultimately we decided that IMAGINATION was the most important aspect to carry forward into Skylanders.  For many fans, Skylanders represents a fresh start for both Spyro and Cynder.  But there are enough nods to previous games to allow longtime fans the freedom to imagine their own connections with the past.  So the real questions are…

• How do you think Cynder has evolved and developed?
  
• Which nods to previous Spyro games do you think were intentional?
  
• And do you think any of these nods have deeper meaning?”
  

Paul Reiche III Wrote:From my own perspective, Cynder was an opportunity to show an inverted image of Spyro – different gender, different original ‘alignment’ and very different approach to solving problems. Spyro is a natural hero upon whom fortune has smiled most of his life.  Cynder comes from a more troubled origin and has had to earn every ounce of her heroism the hard way.  This contrast not only gives greater breadth to the role of dragons in our universe, but it also makes the friendship between Spyro and Cynder more interesting. 

In terms of ‘nods’ to older lore, we faced the eternal problems re-boots always face – how do you make the characters and world sufficiently new that you aren’t just repeating what’s already been done, but also maintain enough of the heart of Spyro to be ‘legit’ (and yes, people define that quite differently, I know!)  I was once complaining to a friend about a particular version of Star Trek which felt ‘wrong’ to me (I love the original, BTW).  She advised me to imagine that yes, somewhere there was the true, singular version of Star Trek, but that we would never be able to see it.  Instead, we get to look into that distant world through a variety of different telescopes which each have different lenses and are pointing at slightly different places.  Maybe Spyro is like that too.

The Skylanders Ring of Heroes 2.0 reboot will be released today at 12am PST. This revamp will have many changes that is different from the previous version of the game that will be more welcoming to players.

https://social-m.withhive.com/customer/notice/40508

Quote:1. Battle System

- The first turn will be given according to each team’s battle power when the battle begins, and the team will share common Mana to use Skylander skills.
- The turn will end when you use up all Mana or when you end the turn voluntarily.
- 4 Skylanders can join each team and additional Skylanders can be added according to the content you use.
- Skylanders that participate in battle will possess up to 3 active skills and 2 passive skills (Leader Skill included) according to the rarity.
- The Portal Master that participates in battle will possess 1 skill, and the core power will be accumulated according to the usage of Skylander skills to use the Portal Master skill.
- The break status will be added when the Endurance turns 0, and the knockdown effect will be activated by specific Skylander skill effects. Other buff effects will be activated equally.
- The relation system for the elements will be introduced in a new way, so there will be no differences on the battle ability for each element.


2. Portal Master

- Portal Masters that join the battle with Skylanders will possess new skills and traits.
- Effects such as shield, evasion, buff effect UP, etc. will be granted on the Skylanders in battle.
- Play the game to meet new Portal Masters now!


3. Skylanders

- With the renewal of the element system, all elements will battle with the same condition excluding light and dark elements.
- Light and dark elements will have special abilities compared to Skylanders of other elements, and you’ll be able to summon them with a special condition.
- All Skylanders will possess equipment slots according to each trait, and the Ether will be transformed into the unique equipment when equipped.
- You’ll be able to upgrade Skylanders with the following methods.

1. Each Skylander will possess the rarity of Premium, Rare, Heroic, and Legendary.
2. Level up: Skylander’s level will be increased according to the acquired EXP and you can level up to Lv. 40 at MAX as a standard.
3. Evolution: The MAX level can be increased up to Lv. 80 by using Evolution Splendor (up to 6 times). The Ether slot will be expanded by 1 when you complete the final Evolution.
4. Awakening: The Endurance will be increased and you’ll acquire Awakened skill by using the [Awakening Stone] (up to 6 times). The Skylander’s appearance will change when you complete the final Awakening.
5. Skills: Skills can be powered-up using the [Skill Power-up Stones], and the skill effect and the duration will be increased and the cooldown time will be decreased (up to Lv. 7).
6. Superboost: The Skylander will be Superboosted when you use the [Superboost Key] or when you summon a Skylander in possession. The MAX skill level will be increased when Superboosted, and the Ether slot will be expanded by 1 when you complete the final Superboost.
7. Transcendence: Use [Imaginites] and Skylanders will acquire special abilities (up to 5 times according to the rarity).


4. Summon System

- Skylanders will be summoned instantly when you use the guaranteed summon system.
- The Skylander will be Superboosted automatically when you summon a Skylander in possession.
- Superboost can be performed up to 5 times, and Imaginites will be acquired according to the rarity when you summon the same Skylander afterwards.
- The summon system is as follows.

1. First Summoning (Pickup Summon): You’ll be able to summon a Legendary Skylander for the first time only.
2. Premium Summon: You can summon Skylanders of each element by selecting the portal of each element. You can meet dark/light Skylanders with special abilities with a fixed chance from the fifth summon.
3. Pickup Summon: You can summon a designated Legendary Skylander with a higher chance. However, you can’t get dark/light Skylanders.
4. Mystic Magic Summon: You can summon Skylanders by using Eon's Mystic Scroll acquired from Eon’s Shop.
5. Wish Stone Summon: You can summon Skylanders by using Wish Stones exchanged with friends.


5. Equipment System (Ether)

- Each Skylander possesses up to 6 equipment slots, and Ethers will be used to equip equipment.
- All Ethers possess main property and sub properties.
- All Ethers can be powered up to power-up stats, and bonus stats can be added or the stats can be increased greatly with every 3rd power-up level.
- All Ethers can be recycled and transformed into Ether pieces used for power-up.
- You’ll be able to grant various effects using Enchant Scrolls after equipping Ethers, and special stats will be activated when you meet the required condition amount. Enchant Scrolls can be acquired from the Secret Scroll Library.
- You can use Ether Extracting Tools to restore Ethers to the complete state on bound Ethers. (1-2★ Ethers don’t require Extracting Tools.)


6. Contents

- Adventures: Start the adventure to fight against Kaos and Doom Raider to protect Skylands! You’ll be able to meet new bosses on the 7th stage of each island and you’ll have to come up with special strategies to defeat them.
- Awakening Dimension Investigation: The dimension has been broken due to an explosion! Defeat the boss Troll King protecting the area and get the Awakening Stone.
- Cyclops Ether Fortress: Defeat the Cyclops abusing the Ethers to get Ethers. You’ll be able to get Ethers and Feather Pens with a fixed chance when you defeat Cyclops.
- Secret Scroll Library: Use the Feather Pens acquired from the Cyclops Ether Fortress to enter. Defeat the Spell Punks to get Enchant Scrolls.
- Dark Subjugation: Fight against the illusion of Kaos! The illusion’s appearance will change and get stronger when designated amount of damage is inflicted. You can enter up to 3 times a day and the highest damage you inflict will be used for the battle record. You can get Superboost Keys according to the acquired score once a day. Special rewards will be given to the Portal Master that inflicts a large amount of damage.
- Mirage Tower: A special training spot prepared by Master Eon! Complete special challenge missions for each stage to get rewards. The tower will reset once a month.
- Guardians: Place Skylanders as guardians on the islands you’ve cleared. You’ll get more patrol rewards as the battle power of placed Skylanders increases.
- Arena: Compete against other Portal Masters! You can participate up to 10 times a day to battle against other Portal Masters. Weekly rewards will be given according to the final grade of each week.


7. Other Changes

- The main menu and the design of each content have been changed for user convenience.
- You’ll be able to move the event menu when you tap on the Event Tab in the main screen. Various events are waiting for you!
- You’ll get rewards according to the achievements completed through missions and training missions.
- The renewed package shop offers free package items provided daily, and special packages available for a limited time only.
- You can change the game settings up to 60FPS according to the device specification for a smoother gameplay screen.
- The game will no longer support Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Turkish with the update. You’ll be able to play the game in English if you were using the noted languages. Also the rewards given according to the previous Academy Level and purchase records will be provided the same.

For the latest and last Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled Grand Prix, Gasmoxia, Spyro is having another new player skin to go along with the space racing event: Meet Space Spyro!

https://blog.activision.com/crash-bandic...Grand-Prix

Spyro will have a new character skin for the Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled's Winter Festival Grand Prix: Winter Guardian Spyro! He will available in the Pit Stop from December 12 to Janauary 12th!

"An almost ethereal vision of Spyro, with a sleek icy hue and imposing antlers, the roastmaster gets a new epic look for the season. Pick it up to celebrate the joy of the season and our favorite lovable dragon."

https://blog.activision.com/crash-bandic...Grand-Prix

The Spyro & Friends Grand Prix will be available on Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled starting August 30th!

Press Release Wrote:Spyro joins the race in Crash™ Team Racing Nitro-Fueled’s Spyro & Friends Grand Prix that’s set to go live on August 30th.* Available for no additional charge to those who have purchased the main game, the Spyro & Friends Grand Prix is giving the iconic purple dragon a license to crash the CTR party for the first time.

In the Spyro & Friends Grand Prix, players can burn rubber and cruise through “Spyro Circuit,” the all-new Spyro-themed track while collecting gems, dodging firework bundles and (of course) flying by sheep. Spyro won’t be venturing into this alone, the purple speedster will be joined by Hunter and Gnasty Gnorc as playable characters with Sparx joining in the fun as a protection mask akin to Aku Aku on the Spyro Circuit track. The Spyro & Friends Grand Prix will also come packed with other hot content that players can earn when connected to the internet, such as fresh new rides with the Spyromobile, Gnasty Ride and Dragonfly, as well as other new Pit Stop items including the amazing new Gem Paint Jobs and element-themed wheels, the Viking Polar Skin, the Orc Big Norm skin and more!