An Unreleased Crash Vs Spyro Racing Game Has Been Found

thegamer.com:

YouTuber Modern Vintage Gamer has uncovered an unreleased Crash vs. Spyro Racing game for the original Xbox. Developed by Argonaut in 2003/2004, this crossover never saw the light of day as the studio, unfortunately, closed down. However, 20 years later, we now have a glimpse at gameplay, an intro cinematic featuring the two platforming mascots, and the title screen.

When digging through a hard drive from a development kit featuring two Eutechnyx games, MVG found a mysterious third title called "LT Demo". This would end up being Crash vs. Spyro Racing, which you can play right now on an emulator as MVG has shared all of the files. It's barebones and clearly unfinished, given that it's a cancelled game, and you don't even play as Crash or Spyro in the build, just two generic racers.

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There are crates scattered along the track which are clearly from Crash Bandicoot, even making the same sound effect when smashed. Digging into the directory, MVG also found a folder called "video" which had a movie file. This would be the intro cinematic, which you can watch by skipping ahead to 3:49. We see several Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon characters revving at the starting line, ready to begin racing. Once they're driving and competing for the number one spot, the emphasis shifts to the rivalry between the titular two.

Before this crossover, Naughty Dog launched its own Mario Kart-like game in 1999, Crash Team Racing. Spyro didn't get a racing game, but when CTR was remade in 2019, the Spyro and Friends DLC was released, bringing to life this unknown cancelled crossover after 20 years. Looking back at that expansion now, it suddenly holds much more