The game was originally intended to be a Yoshi platforming spin off based on Nintendo's Mario. But after the studio pitched the idea, Nintendo turned it down.
Croc was designed by computer artist Simon Keating, who was asked to create a character similar enough to Yoshi without causing any legal trouble. Keating also drew inspiration from his pet cat at the time, who like Croc had a single fang protruding from its mouth.
"Croc: Legend of the Gobbos" was a big success for Argonaut and one of their best-selling games at the time. It became a bestseller in the U.K. for 2 months, and sold over 3 million units for the PlayStation, making it the 31st best-selling game off all-time for that platform.
Publisher Fox Interactive had envisioned "Croc" as a successful multimedia franchise with extensive merchandising. They even considered developing an animated television series based on "Croc", though the plan ultimately never came to fruition.
Croc's voice samples were recorded by Britich film and theater actor Jonathan Aris, who recorded all of the character's sounds in less than an hour.