Will We Ever See Another Skylanders Game

If you grew up balancing a stack of plastic Skylanders figures next to your TV, you have probably wondered the same thing every time another generation of consoles drops. The Portal of Power is collecting dust in a closet somewhere, your favorite Spyro repaint is still sitting on a shelf, and yet there has been almost nothing official from Activision in years. So is Skylanders coming back, or has the franchise quietly retired for good?

This is where things actually stand. The history, the recent corporate moves, the rumors that turned out to be fake, and the small handful of real signals that suggest a comeback could happen. By the end you will have a clear picture of why the question of whether Skylanders is coming back is more complicated than a yes or no.

What actually happened to Skylanders in the first place?

Skylanders launched in 2011 with Spyro's Adventure and basically invented the modern toys-to-life genre. The premise was simple. You bought physical figures, placed them on a Portal of Power, and the game read the chip in the base to unlock the character. It was a massive hit. The first game alone reportedly cost Activision around $100 million to produce, putting it in the same budget tier as Call of Duty, and the franchise went on to release a new entry almost every year through 2016.

Then it stopped. Imaginators came out in 2016 and the series went into hiatus. There was a mobile spin-off called Ring of Heroes that limped along until it shut down in 2022, and that was it. Toys for Bob, the studio that built Skylanders from the ground up, was reassigned to support Call of Duty Warzone instead. The toys-to-life market also collapsed around the same time, with Disney Infinity and LEGO Dimensions both shutting down. So when people ask if Skylanders is coming back, the honest answer has to acknowledge that the genre itself basically died, and the studio behind it spent years working on something completely different.

Is Skylanders coming back officially in 2026?

No new Skylanders game has been officially announced as of right now. There is no release date, no trailer, no confirmed development team working on a mainline entry, and no Activision press release. If you have seen articles or fan wiki pages with detailed plot summaries, character lists, or release dates, those are almost always fan-made concept projects rather than real announcements. It is worth being skeptical of any "leak" that comes with a fully planned campaign, voice cast, and figure lineup.

That said, the question of is Skylanders coming back is not a flat no either. There are real, documented signals that a revival is on the table behind the scenes. In 2023, Activision sent a survey to a fan asking about a potential remaster bundle of the first three Skylanders games (Spyro's Adventure, Giants, and Swap Force), with the option to play without the original figures. That survey did not turn into an announcement, but it confirmed Activision was at least thinking about how to bring the brand back in a lower-risk format.

The other big signal came after the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said publicly that Microsoft had expressed interest in reviving some of the dormant franchises, and Skylanders was named alongside Guitar Hero. So even though no game has been confirmed, the people in charge have at least acknowledged that the brand has value worth bringing back.

What does Toys for Bob going independent change?

This is the most interesting part of the whole story. After the Microsoft acquisition, Toys for Bob split from Activision and went independent in early 2024. Shortly after, the studio confirmed it was working on a new game published by Xbox. The studio is the original creator of Skylanders, the Spyro Reignited Trilogy, and Crash Bandicoot 4, so any new project from them is going to feel close to one of those three brands.

Most industry watchers think the next Toys for Bob game is more likely to be a new Spyro than a new Skylanders. Spyro has not had a brand new entry in years, the studio has clear experience with that character, and a Spyro game does not require the toys-to-life infrastructure that made Skylanders so expensive to produce. So when fans ask if Skylanders is coming back, the more accurate question right now might be whether the team that built Skylanders is going to revive it directly or take another swing at Spyro first.

Either way, the existence of an independent Toys for Bob still working with Microsoft is the closest thing to good news the franchise has had in years. The studio is alive, the talent is still there, and the publisher relationship is locked in.

Why has Microsoft hinted at a revival but not delivered one?

There are a few reasons the question of is Skylanders coming back has stayed in limbo for so long. The biggest is cost. Producing a real Skylanders game is not just a software project. The original franchise required physical figure design, manufacturing, retail distribution, NFC chip programming, and licensing for a mountain of characters. That is a massive operation, and the toys-to-life market is no longer the cash cow it was in 2012.

The second reason is that Microsoft has been busy with bigger fish. The Activision acquisition only finalized in late 2023, and since then the priority has been Call of Duty, Diablo, World of Warcraft, and integrating Game Pass. Reviving a dormant franchise like Skylanders is a low-priority project compared to making sure those big tentpoles keep performing. So even if everyone agrees Skylanders is coming back at some point, it is not necessarily next on the list.

The third reason is identity. Modern Skylanders has to decide what it wants to be. Does it lean into the toys again with a smaller, more focused figure lineup? Does it drop the toys entirely and become a digital-only platformer? Does it become a live-service game that incorporates user-created characters like Imaginators tried to? Until someone makes that call, a real Skylanders game cannot move forward.

Three signals that matter most

• Toys for Bob is back and independent, and they are publishing a new game with Xbox.
• Microsoft has named Skylanders as a franchise they would like to revive.
• Activision has surveyed fans about a potential remaster bundle without requiring the original toys.

Could the toys-to-life model still work in 2026?

This is the real question hiding under the question of is Skylanders coming back. Toys-to-life as a category basically collapsed by 2017. Disney Infinity ended, LEGO Dimensions shut down, and even Nintendo's amiibo line scaled way back from where it was at peak. The reasons were the same across the board. Parents got tired of buying expensive plastic figures, kids moved to free-to-play digital games, and the cost of producing physical toys started outweighing the revenue.

There are arguments both ways for whether the model could work today. On one hand, collectibles are bigger than ever right now thanks to the resurgence of Funko Pops, blind-box figures, and high-end gaming statues. There is a real market for physical gaming memorabilia, especially among adults who grew up with these franchises. On the other hand, getting kids to buy ten different figures to fully experience a video game is a much harder sell in 2026 than it was in 2012.

A modern Skylanders revival would probably need to make the figures optional. Sell the game on its own, let people play with whatever digital characters they unlock, and make the figures a premium add-on for collectors. That is the kind of model that could work in 2026, and it lines up with what the 2023 survey was actually asking about.

What would a real Skylanders comeback need to look like?

If Microsoft and Toys for Bob actually pull the trigger on this, here is what a smart comeback would probably include. The figures should be optional. The original game library should be playable in some form, either as a remaster bundle or through backward compatibility. The new entry should focus on what made the early Skylanders games special, which was tight 3D platforming, charming character design, and co-op play that worked for kids and adults at the same time.

It also needs to live somewhere people will actually find it. Game Pass would be a natural home for any Xbox-published Skylanders revival. Day-one access on Game Pass would solve the discoverability problem and let curious parents try the game without committing to a $60 purchase, which is exactly the kind of low-friction approach that could rebuild interest in the franchise.

If you still own a stack of figures from the original run and want something display-worthy to put alongside them, Cubold has a growing collection of 3D printed gaming replicas across dozens of franchises, plus high-density foam replica props built for shelf display.

The toys-to-life market collapsed almost a decade ago. Any modern Skylanders revival has to find a way to keep what was special about the franchise without leaning on a model that no longer works.

When could fans actually expect news?

Realistically, any major announcement would happen at one of the big yearly showcases. The Xbox Games Showcase, Summer Game Fest, or The Game Awards are the most likely venues for Microsoft to drop a Skylanders reveal if one is coming. Smaller news could surface through Xbox Wire blog posts or trade press if Microsoft wants a softer rollout, similar to how Banjo-Kazooie news has trickled out in the past.

If you are watching closely for whether Skylanders is coming back, keep an eye on Toys for Bob's announcements specifically. The studio's next reveal is the most likely indicator one way or the other. A Spyro reveal would push the Skylanders timeline further out. A direct Skylanders reveal would, obviously, end this entire question. Anything from Activision's preservation team about classic remasters could also point to a Skylanders compilation.

Until then, the most accurate take is that the franchise is closer to a comeback than it has been in years, but there is still no firm timeline. The pieces are in place. The IP has new ownership. The original studio is independent and active. The fan demand is documented. What is missing is the actual greenlight.

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