Crash Bandicoot may be getting a new game announced at this year’s Game Awards; at least if we’re drawing the right conclusion from a recent tease. A recent secret package delivered to YouTuber Canadian Guy Eh includes a surprise announcement and a teaser so blatant the developer may as well come right out and say it.
In a recent video, Canadian Guy Eh showed off the unboxing of a “secret package” from “Aku-Aku’s Steam-In Pizza Shack”. In case you haven’t noticed you don’t normally steam a pizza (or at least I’ve never tried it), rather the name of the fictional business is a reference to Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time coming to Steam. The game launched on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch with a Battle Net exclusive PC release later on. Steam remains the largest digital storefront for games in spite of publisher-run competition like EA’ Origin or Activision-Blizzard’s Battle Net.
After going through the obvious goodies and advertisements in the package, there’s one remaining clue at the end of it all. A fake receipt is printed on the side of the box and includes a cryptic message “Hungry for more? Try our new Wumpa Pizza for $12.08”. As you all know we live in a world where most things have a price ending in .99 to trick your brain into thinking you’re not spending as much money, so where does 12.08 come from?
The Game Awards is a yearly marketing event hosted by Geoff Keighley. Games are then chosen by a panel of “jurors” affiliated with the award show. Gamers are also given a chance to show their support for the games they think are deserving, but “Winners are determined by a blended vote between the voting jury (90%) and public fan voting (10%)” which means the jurors are the ultimate decision makers.
What does The Game Awards have to do with Wumpa Pizza? Well the show conveniently falls on December 8, or rather 12/08. That’s not just a simple clue, that’s virtually outright saying something is likely to be announced during The Game Awards on December 8.
So what is going to be announced? Most likely it’s a game reportedly called Wumpa League (not an official title) which has reportedly been in the works for a while. Rather than a conventional platformer, Wumpa League is reported to be a multiplayer party game where players compete to collect the most Wumpas. Crash is no stranger to party games with games like Crash Team Racing and Crash Bash in the franchise’s portfolio.
At the end of the day despite how obvious this teaser appears, it remains just that: a teaser. There hasn’t been an official announcement so all we can do now is wait and see if Crash Bandicoot makes his latest appearance at this year’s Game Awards.
