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It was only a matter of time until Activision announced the next installment in its all too popular Skylanders series, but the company has finally unveiled its latest plans for its multi-billion dollar toys-to-life franchise. The new iteration, now known as Skylanders Trap Team, will bring an entirely new portal and gameplay mechanics with it — the most notable being the ability to capture and play as the bosses encountered during the campaign.

Just as Giants and Swap Force did before, Skylanders Trap Team will change up the way fans play the game and what's available to collect. While many consumers figured that there would be new toys to amass (as has been the case with every new entry in the series thus far), a new peripheral that generates a myriad of new collectible options has also been introduced called the Traptanium Portal.

Other than looking significantly sleeker than the portal featured in past installments, the aforementioned Traptanium Portal has a very special add-on that actually allows users to capture bosses they've defeated in-game. This marks the first time that consumers will be able to play as characters that they haven't collected the action figure of, but Toys for Bob and Activision have ensured a means of profit through another new line of accessories for avid collectors to invest in.

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Traps, a new Skylanders accessory which will be sold at retailers, can be used to capture foes and transport them to the real world. The voices of these villains can then be heard through the portal that's connected to the game system itself, which should breathe new life into the once mute peripheral. It also glows in a significantly more entertaining manner, which now makes it resemble a portal even more so than previous iterations — an aesthetic feature that's sure to immerse fans even more in the toy-to-life philosophy that's made the series such a hit to begin with.

Of course, action figures that debuted for past Skylanders entries will still remain compatible with the new "Trap Masters" featured in Trap Team, and they can be brought to other friends' houses as well. The caged and converted villains can also be brought to other games and a similar manner, making them just as desireable as the figurines themselves.

Skylanders Trap Team is sure to resonate with its large fan base, and releasing a hodgepodge of new toys upon the masses more or less equates to a license to print money. With the success of the property, not to mention the new game reveal, it was surprising when word got out that the first entry in the Skylanders series was almost a Nintendo-exclusive — especially given how much of a hit it went on to become.

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Skylanders Trap Team will be summoned on PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One this October 5 in North America; October 2 in Australia/New Zealand; and October 10 in Europe. A 3DS spin-off of sorts is also in the works but is currently sans release date.

Follow Riley on Twitter @TheRileyLittle.