Amid all the depressing news surrounding Xbox’s layoffs, at least one title under its purview, developed independently by Toys for Bob, is coming along without any apparent hangups. We’re, of course, talking about Spyro: A Realm Beyond, revealed at the recent Xbox Games Showcase and planned to release next year.
Besides serving as the newest mainline Spyro since Year of the Dragon (we don’t talk about the reboots), it promises to be the first entry to offer true free-flying. Speaking to Kinda Funny Games, associate creative director Louis Studdert revealed more details on how that would work. Long story short, don’t expect to leave it on autopilot and cruise along.
“We wanted to make sure that it is active. It is decision-making. It is pressing buttons. It is almost, you know, that platforming feel of evaluating a play space and figuring out how to continue.”
You can flap Spyro’s wings by pressing a button, which helps maintain his speed, but diving down can provide a sizable increase (though you can also fly through sky rings mid-flight). Igniting a site with his fire breath will also create wind updrafts for more altitude.
“It’s really about evaluating the play space. It’s looking at what you can interact with and connecting all of those to sustain your momentum and to keep going,” said Studdert.
Studio head Paul Yan added, “It’s super important for us that the player is able to say, ‘Look at that thing off in the distance. How do I get there? And then how do I leverage the environments around me and my abilities to do that?’ Because what we don’t want is for it to be a flight simulator where we say, ‘Okay, here’s the destination, hit in the GPS, we’re going to coast and get there.’ There’s no fun in that.”
He also subscribed to the lack of an “autopilot” option. “Platforming as a term in this flight space is a little bit different than platforming like jumping on the ground, but similarly, we want that kind of decision-making to happen in that space.” Whether the controls will offer that promised “zen-like fluidity” remains to be seen, but we’re still a ways off from release, so expect even more gameplay in the coming months.
Spyro: A Realm Beyond will be available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2 in Spring 2027.
