Fans speculate as PlayStation Middle East posts a Crash Bandicoot tease, but is a new Crash Bandicoot game on the way or is it just a remaster?

While Sackboy, Nathan Drake and God of War's Kratos may be PlayStation's best known characters these days, when the brand was starting out, Crash Bandicoot was the unofficial mascot. The first game in the franchise, Crash Bandicoot, sold over 6 million copies making it one of the best-selling games in PlayStation history and making the original PlayStation console a must-have.

The immense popularity of the series, which has switched developers and publishers over a dozen times, has also remained high. Despite a new game not being released since 2008, fans are still hoping for a reboot. Those fans now have something to go giddy over as Sony has posted a Crash Bandicoot tease.

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A tweet from PlayStation Middle East was posted early Saturday morning. It features an image of the famous orange protagonist, along with a message that roughly translates to 'Most Wanted: Where are you Crash?'. Naturally, people have begun to speculate whether this is an all new Crash Bandicoot game or whether its just a re-release of an old CB title.

Supporting the re-release theory is the fact that Sony recently launched its PS2 to PS4 emulation tech. Already, PS4 players have been able to get their mitts on a variety of classic titles, from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas to PS2 launch title FantaVision, and Sony has promised to keep up a regular schedule of re-releases. Many have said that the Crash Bandicoot franchise is one that they'd like to see remastered, so Sony could be filling one of the most highly requested demands from fans.

Supporting the 'new Crash Bandicoot game' theory, on the other hand, is the fact that rumors about a reboot have been circling for years. In 2013, a source with ties to Naughty Dog (the original developer of the series) stated that a new Crash Bandicoot game is "definitely in production", and in the same year, series co-creator Andy Gavin also discussed his ideas for a "total reboot".

It has also been suggested that Sony has reacquired the Crash Bandicoot brand as Activision shut down the official CB website in 2013, which coincided with the franchise being removed from the list of Activision-owned properties on Wikipedia. More recently, SCEA president Shawn Layden wore a Crash Bandicoot t-shirt at PlayStation Experience 2015.

If a new CB game is in the works at Naughty Dog, then many will be hoping for a return to the series' roots. Others, however, may fear that this could somehow contribute to Uncharted 4: A Thief's End being delayed again. The PS4 blockbuster was already delayed until April and the developer is still doing mo-cap recording despite the fine margins so if Naughty Dog really is splitting its resources between the two titles, it will have to make sure that fans of its main franchise aren't losing out.

Source: PlayStation Middle East