11 Years Later, One of the Most Beloved Mascot Platformers Is Coming Back
Something good from an otherwise terrible week for Ubisoft.
It’s been a harrowing few months for Ubisoft. First, the French publisher reported that one of its biggest releases of the year, Star Wars Outlaws, didn’t sell as much as anticipated. It then delayed Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the next entry in its most valuable franchise, to next February. And now, the internal team behind its biggest critical hit of 2024, Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown, has been disbanded.
But while 2024 has been rough for Ubisoft, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for fans of a certain classic platforming mascot. The publisher confirmed that two of its teams, including developers who worked on The Lost Crown, are in the early stages of making a new Rayman game.
“We are pleased to confirm Ubisoft Montpellier and Ubisoft Milan have recently started an exploration phase on the Rayman brand,” a spokesperson for Ubisoft told Kotaku. “The project is still in its early stages, and we will share more details later.”
Ubisoft’s statement comes just a few days after Insider Gaming reported The Lost Crown developer Ubisoft Montpellier had been split up and is now working on the next entry of Ghost Recon, a Rayman remake, and the elusive sequel to Beyond Good and Evil. The publisher’s decision to split the team came after the Prince Of Persia Metrovania failed to meet sales expectations. A proposed sequel to The Lost Crown was also canceled, according to the report.
For fans of The Lost Crown, this is a very disappointing development. It remains one of the top-rated games of the year and a refreshing take on a series that has remained dormant for a decade. However, there was also plenty working against its success. Ubisoft decided against selling the game on Steam, where the vast majority of PC players buy games.
However, knowing that some of the folks behind one of the year’s best 2D platformers are now working on Rayman is something positive amid the morbidity. The last Rayman game, 2013’s Rayman Legends, was an excellent 2D platformer both solo and with friends. It was also a big success for Ubisoft at the time, selling more than 4 million copies in five years.
Rayman was a playable character in 2022’s Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope.
Little is known about the alleged Ghost Recon project in the works. However, Beyond Good and Evil 2 just got a new creative director in industry veteran Fawzi Mesmar. Mesmar, who announced his new role on LinkedIn, previously worked for EA Games studio DICE and mobile game company King. He has spent the last three years as Ubisoft’s vice president of global creative.
Mesmar is replacing the game’s former, now-deceased creative director Emil Morel. The hiring marks the latest leadership change for Beyond Good and Evil 2, which was first announced in 2008. The move also comes four years after series creator and Ubisoft lifer Michel Ancel exited the company following allegations of running a toxic workplace.
Whatever’s next for Rayman will be long overdue. Despite debuting way back in 1995, Rayman has only had five mainline games. The character’s only appearance in video games since his last starring role was as a playable hero in 2022’s Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, and in the 2019 mobile game Rayman Mini.
