A new leak has surfaced that indicates that the long-awaited next entry in the Crash Bandicoot series may feature a cooperative multiplayer mode. The discovery was made by dataminers who were sifting through the files of the Steam version of the game.

Dataminers have found references to a new game mode called Wumpa League in the Steam version of Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time. The mode appears to be a competitive multiplayer race where players collect Wumpa fruit and try to reach the finish line first.

While the dataminers didn’t find any actual evidence of a multiplayer mode in the game, they did come across references to something called the “Wumpa League.” There’s also mention of something called the “Nitro Squad,” which could be another hint at a multiplayer mode.

Of course, it’s possible that the references to a multiplayer mode are just placeholder text that will be replaced with something else before the game is released. However, it’s also possible that they’re genuine hints at what the game will include.

It's unclear how many players will be able to participate in Wumpa League races, but the mode seems to support up to four players. There are also a variety of different race tracks that have been found in the game's files, suggesting that Wumpa League will be a fairly robust mode.

While it's currently unknown when Wumpa League will be added to the Steam version of Crash Bandicoot 4, it's likely that it will be added in a future update. Given that the mode was found in the game's files, it's possible that it was intended to be added at launch but was ultimately cut for some reason.

Whatever the case may be, it's exciting to see that Crash Bandicoot 4 will be getting a competitive multiplayer mode. Wumpa League sounds like it will be a blast to play with friends, and it should add some much-needed replay value to the game.

We’ll have to wait until an official announcement from Activision to know for sure, but in the meantime, the prospect of a multiplayer mode in the next Crash Bandicoot game is certainly an intriguing one.