Exclusive: Activision Axes Skylanders Franchise, 2017 Game (Patreon)

For the past few games, the Skylanders series has suffered from a gradual downwards spiral in sales. Once a giant of the toys-to-life genre, the franchise has steadily shrank in popularity after each annualised release. To make matters worse, the recent Skylanders Academy TV series, which launched on Netflix last month, brought in disappointment viewing figures. Activision was banking on Imaginators, the most recent game, to right the ship. Instead, it was the death knell for Skylanders. According to multiple sources at the publisher, Activision has cancelled the proposed 2017 instalment in pre-production. Like Guitar Hero before it, the publisher has put the franchise on ice with no current plans to continue it. The sales of Imaginators have so far failed to impress and merchandise figures, too, have been in decline. The collapse of Skylanders marks the second landmark failure for the toys to life business in one year - the first being Disney Infinity. Has the bubble finally burst? - Liam