Crash Warped was released in North America on November 3, 1998. It was developed by Naughty Dog and was the last of the original PlayStation Crash platformers they created. The game sold over 5.7 million units by 2002, making it one of the best-selling PlayStation titles.

The budget for the game was around USD 4-5 million, with a development timeframe of approximately 14 months.

There are 25 crystals, 45 gems (including 5 colored gems), and 30 relics to collect.

The initial North American release featured a lenticular cover, where the front insert created an illusion of motion when tilted.

The Japanese version of the game includes five short full-motion video segments that do not appear in other regional versions.

The boss character Doctor Nefarious Tropy (N. Tropy) was introduced because the developers felt a time-travel-themed boss was necessary.

Coco becomes a playable character for the first time in this installment.

Two of the level names, “Ski Crazed” and “Rings of Power,” are actually titles of earlier Naughty Dog games.

In the Egyptian-themed levels, hieroglyphs depict a black dog named Morgan, who was the company dog at Naughty Dog during development.

The composer Josh Mancell crafted the soundtrack to evoke a cartoonish, playful style distinct from that of Mario or Sonic.

Crash Bandicoot, the character, reportedly had over 30,000 frames of animation, more than many other video-game characters of the time.

The level “Tomb Wader” is a pun on “Tomb Raider.”

In Time Trial mode, if you take longer than 10 minutes, the mode ends and reverts to normal play in non-PAL versions; in PAL versions, the timer freezes at 9:59.96.

If you collect all crystals, gems, and relics (including the colored ones), you reach 105% completion, the maximum possible in the game.

The shape of the relics was inspired by the Egyptian ankh, a symbol representing time and eternity.

Cortex uses three different character models throughout the game, causing his hair color to change between purple, blue, and black depending on the cutscene or boss fight.

There are almost 2,000 crates scattered across all levels.

During development, the team worked 16–20-hour days in halls without air conditioning because the offices refused to allow after-hours access; the servers would often overheat to over 130°F.